Disclaimer:

Nothing is mine. Harry Potter (the Weasley family and so on) belongs to JKR and those who publish her books. Damien is Kurinoone's and Harry's background is kind of hers, too. I am doing this for fun (and to sleep peacefully) and I earn no money for this story. There are parts of this story that have been written by JKR and parts that have been written by Kurinoone.

Chapter Twenty – Stepping Backwards vs. Stepping Forwards

The moment Harry arrived the whole flat seemed to tense up. Sarah smiled at her flatmate shortly before disappearing into her room. Ginny had gathered her things earlier that morning. She didn't know when Harry would arrive, so she wanted to make sure she was ready. When he did, he handed her a plain bag. She packed her things in silence.

"Alex?" Harry turned towards Amy. "Can I talk with you for a moment please?" She motioned for the door to her room. Harry nodded. They disappeared inside, while Ginny waited in the main room, ready to go. It took them a long time to talk and when they emerged from the room, they both looked very serious. Ginny was about to open her mouth to ask them if everything was okay but she closed it again, feeling it was not her place to do so.

"So..." Amy trailed off, looking at both of them. "I guess this is goodbye."

Ginny nodded, as did Harry solemnly. Amy stepped over to Ginny, hugging her lightly. "Good luck with everything."

"Thanks" She muttered quietly. And then, louder: "Thank you for everything. It was really nice of you to take me in and- and everything"

Amy smiled slightly, even if it looked sadder than anything which only made her look sadder than before. "You're welcome."

Harry took Ginny's bag, motioning her towards the door. They stepped over and out together, as Amy opened the door for them.

Harry and Amy looked at each other for a moment before both nodded. "Goodbye, Alex."

"Goodbye, Amy."

Harry and Ginny walked down the floor. Amy closed the door behind them. They walked in silence until they had left the house far behind them.

It was Ginny who broke the silence. "Is everything okay?"

Harry looked up from where he was going. Ginny frowned. Usually he walked with his head held high. Now he had it bowed. Finally he nodded hard. "Yeah, don't worry."

The next steps were taken in silence as well. As Harry led her further away from Amy's flat and after a while he motioned for her to walk around the next corner. They entered a small alley, which seemed to grow darker the longer one walked.

From the corner of her eyes she watched Harry. He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking troubled. Was she getting better at reading him or was he finally letting his guard down around her? He opened his mouth and closed it again. Ginny's frown deepened. What did he want to say but couldn't? She didn't think there was anything he was afraid to say. That was ridiculous. He was probably just thinking of a way to say it... but still-

"I-" He paused, coming to standstill. Ginny turned towards him, looking expectantly at him. "I'm-" He gestured widely, looking anywhere but at her. "About yesterday-" He took a deep breath, running one hand through his hair. "With that guy, I shouldn't have-" He broke off again. Finally he met her gaze head on and said: "I shouldn't have done what I did."

Ginny nodded feeling numb. "I hate people making my decisions for me and I hate people trying to protect me."

"I- you looked uncomfortable." Harry said, trying to explain himself.

"I was."

"He touched you."

"I noticed." She answered dryly.

"He was about to kiss you."

"I know."

"Then why-"

Ginny broke him off, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Because it's my decision and I can decide if I want it or not. You can't decide that for me. It's not your place."

"Yes, but clearly you didn't want to, so-"

"No." Her eyes flashed. "No, even if it was clearly visible, it's my decision and I can deal with it how I please."

"But what could-"

"Don't even dare to ask what I could do. I grew up with enough brothers to know how to take care of myself."

"You weren't able to fight me off."

Ginny froze, staring at him. "Yeah, but in case you haven't noticed random-average guys chatting me up, aren't trained warriors."

With more frequency than she had expected he said: "I'm not."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not a trained warrior."

Ginny frowned. "What are you then?"

He shrugged, his eyes losing their focus. "I don't know, Ginny." And then, barley a whisper, he repeated just to himself: "I don't know."

Silence fell. Desperately she tried to think of something to say that would keep them talking but there was only one thing that came to her mind. With a small sigh, she asked: "What's up with Amy and you?"

He looked at her closely, said nothing and walked on. She hurried after him. With a sudden impulse, she asked: "You broke up, didn't you?"

Harry looked at her surprised before he nodded.

"Are you... are you alright?" She asked softly.

"It's for the best."

"That's not what I asked." Their eyes met and they stopped walking again. They were now standing in the dark, furthest away corner from the street. Harry offered her his hand. She took it feeling confused.

"She cared more about me than I did about her anyway." He mumbled and then as an afterthought added: "It won't happen again." And for once crazy moment Ginny wasn't so sure if he was talking about the night before or if he was talking about meeting girls like Amy, but she had no time to ask or to get her mind around it because the world went black and she couldn't breathe it felt like she was being squeezed through a small pipe. He was side-along-apparating her... without a forewarning again.

xxx

He walked in after her and closed the door firmly, putting the bag onto a chair, while Ginny watched him. He had brought her to a Traveller's Inn before she even had the chance to open her mouth. She crossed her arms and waited for him to turn around. Finally he did. Upon seeing her look, he raised an eyebrow.

"What have I told you about side-along-apparition?"

Harry smirked and shrugged.

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "Give me a warning next time, idiot."

"Stop insulting me." But it didn't sound like he really cared about it. "And anyway, I did."

"You did not."

"What did you think we would be doing in that alley? What did you think I wanted with your hand? To hold it?"

Ginny threw her hands up. How did he always manage to make her feel stupid and embarrassed? "You're impossible!"

He grinned lightly, looking smug. "Thanks."

She turned away from him, taking a first real look around. The room was simple but held everything she needed. Of course it would do. Harry followed her gaze.

"So..." He said.

"So..." She repeated.

"I will just leave you alone then."

Disappointment welled up in Ginny. This was it? He would go now again, leaving her here, completely alone? "Maybe- I mean- You could – If you really need to..."

Harry frowned slightly. "Am I supposed to understand you?"

Ginny flushed. "Can't you just stay a while longer?"

"So you can insult me some more?" He asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"No insults." She held up both her hands. "I promise."

He rolled his eyes. "I have something to do."

"What? Maybe I can help."

He shook his head. "Err... no"

"Try me." He still looked unconvinced. "Come on! I'm totally bored otherwise."

"I have to think about something."

Ginny shrugged. "You can think here."

He took a look around and sighed. Ginny made her way over to the bed, slipped out of her shoes and sat down, leaning against the headboard.

"Come on." She patted the spot in front of her. "I don't bite."

Harry smirked. "What would your mother say to that?"

Ginny swallowed, taking a short look down at her hands. "Don't bring my family up."

His smirk faded away and he nodded silently. "It won't happen again."

"Your list of that seems to be growing." She said, smiling tiredly.

He shrugged but stepped over to her, flopping down onto the bed. Ginny's eyes narrowed; silently she grabbed one of the pillows and threw it at him. He caught it and looked at her confused.

"Take your shoes off. I want to sleep in this bed."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't make a fuss."

Ginny glared at him. Hard. And threw another pillow. "Potter, take your shoes off or get away from my bed."

He sighed dramatically but followed her order. She grinned. "And just so you know, my mother would of course point out ways to seduce you."

Harry lay down, turning his head so that he was looking at her. He smirked. "What would she advice you?"

Ginny shrugged, suddenly a bit embarrassed to what this could lead. "Just kidding. She would of course be horrified."

Harry turned his head away, staring up at the ceiling instead.

"So what do you have to think about?" she asked, ending the sudden awkward silence.

"You know, normal people think in silence."

"In case you haven't noticed: I'm not normal. And thinking aloud is better anyway. You come to a conclusion much quicker." She paused. "And I'm curious."

Harry snorted. "You are too nosy for your own good."

"Sorry, I can't help that."

Harry nodded. "Gryffindor trait."

"Curiosity is not a Gryffindor trait." She replied, frowning.

"Of course it is. You should be glad. It's one of the better ones. Not that it is necessarily good but there are far worse."

"Do you know what you really have to do?" Harry looked at her again, raising an eyebrow. "Stop reducing everything about Gryffindor as bad. It's not."

"It is."

"Just because you were taught that it is, doesn't mean it really is." Harry's face grew serious. He mumbled something she didn't catch. "Excuse me?" But he didn't repeat it. "To get back to subject: what do you have to think about?"

Harry rolled his eyes and faced the ceiling once more. "I have to figure something out."

"Great. I can help you with that. It's always easier to figure things out together." He gave her a long look, there was something in his eyes she couldn't place. "What is it?"

"You remind me of someone."

Ginny blinked. "Really? Who?" Harry shook his head. "Hey! You can't just leave me hanging here. You have to tell me now."

"No, I don't."

She stuck out her tongue. "You are evil."

"Yeah, I know." But his voice had lost the playful edge. He sat up, sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from her.

Ginny swallowed. "I don't really think you are evil, you know that right?"

But he didn't turn around or tell her that he was only joking. "You were right earlier. I am a trained warrior."

"Harry..."

But he just shook his head. "You said so yourself."

"Yes, but I was joking." She said desperately trying to get out of this serious conversation, even if she knew that she hadn't been joking.

"You weren't. It's okay." He started to put his boot back on. Ginny bit her lip. He couldn't go around thinking like that. She crawled to the end of the bed and stood up, standing right in front of him. When he didn't stop, she poked him in the head. He looked up, his face set in a hard, cold mask. Ginny swallowed.

"You. Are. Not. Evil." With each word she poked him in the head again, staring intensely at him.

"Stop kidding yourself Ginny. It's alright. It's true after all."

Ginny growled. "We are so going to talk about this now, Potter."

"Is that a threat?"

"If it needs to be." She held his gaze. "You are not evil." He opened his mouth. "Shut it, I'm not finished." Harry rolled his eyes. "Maybe there is a part of you that is evil, that is cruel, that is whatever." She threw her hands up. "And maybe this part is a trained warrior."

Harry nodded. "So we agree." He stood up, now taller than her again. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, unconsciously taking the posture her mother used to get a point across.

"But Harry that is not you, that is not everything about you." He shook his head, trying to step away from her. She didn't let him. There had to be a way to convince him. "If you were really truly only evil, I would be six feet under now, rotting away." He stopped, staring at her, before looking away. "Or I would have died that day in Hogsmeade, crashing to the ground. I would be dead for some time now. So would be Madame Pomfrey's children. So would Damy." Harry sat back down on the bed, looking at the ground. "You just have to belie-"

"You reminded me of myself just then." He interrupted her. Ginny shut her mouth. "You don't know how many times I brought the argument that figuring things out together is easier."

Ginny knew what that meant. She sighed silently. The other subject was closed now. He wouldn't talk about it with her. "So what do you need to figure out?"

"You should sit down again. This might take a while." Ginny listened and returned to her former position at the headboard. He slipped out of his boots as well, lying down again. Ginny couldn't help the small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I am looking for an object, protected by a person but I have no idea what this object is. I have to find it... and destroy it."

"Why do you look for something like that?" she asked, frowning. It sounded like he didn't have the faintest idea what he was looking for.

He paused, obviously thinking something over. "You remember the talk we had about revenge?"

"Sure."

"That's the revenge."

"Finding some object and... err... destroying it?"

"There's more than one."

She snorted. "That sounds like some crazy and great revenge."

"It's the perfect revenge."

"If you say so."

"I do."

"Yeah, I can't really tell. I had no insight into a dark lord's minds lately."

Harry chuckled. Ginny sighed silently. It seemed like he could at last ignore what happened before. She grinned at him.

"So... those objects make him immortal?" She asked innocently. Harry froze and his eyes narrowed. "You know, even if you don't think so, I pay attention when you are talking."

Harry sighed. "Very Slytherin of you, Weasley."

"That's supposed to be a compliment right?"

"It's not supposed to be one, it is one."

"Then, I guess..." She paused. "Thank you." Then she grimaced. "I can't believe I just thanked you because you told me I behave like a Slytherin."

Harry's mouth twitched. "So... how did you figure it out?"

"You just said, you are looking for several objects and that it is your revenge. Do you remember the time you," She grimaced again. "Found me crying?"

"Mhmm..."

"You said you were planning to take his immortality." She paused. "So I just combined that aaand voila: objects that keep him immortal."

Harry nodded. "They are called Horcruxes."

"Never heard of that."

"It's not something they teach at school."

"What? I always thought that was what History of Magic was for. They hired this super boring teacher who talked about history most of the time but in some small sentences, hidden very deeply there were those dark things and everyone who managed to stay awake would make a fine dark lord one day." She replied sarcastically and then as an afterthought: "Damn! Why did I even try to stay awake then?"

Harry laughed. Ginny grinned happily. She liked to see him like this. She wished he would laugh more often.

"You are pretty funny, you know that right?"

Her grin widened and she puffed herself up importantly, trying to remember exactly how Percy always did that. "So I've been told."

Harry laughed harder and she couldn't help but dissolve into giggles. When she calmed down, she plunked down onto the bed beside him, they came came to rest side by side. Together they stared at the ceiling.

"So... any great ideas that could help me?" Harry asked her.

"Who do you think could have a Horcrux?"

Harry frowned, turning slightly to look at her. "What does it matter?"

She shrugged. "Don't know, maybe it helps."

"I thought about Bella." He said after a while.

Ginny frowned, lost in thoughts. "Jewellery?"

"Why jewellery?"

"She is a woman, isn't she?" Ginny asked, staring back at him.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

She rolled her eyes. "If she has a Horcrux, she probably has it with her all the time, right?"

"Of course."

"What would be better than jewellery?"

Harry snorted. "Bella doesn't wear jewellery."

"Maybe it's something small and simple that doesn't catch your eyes." She tried to convince him.

"Father's Horcruxes aren't something small and simple." He said at once.

She swallowed, noticing how he addressed You-Know-Who again. "How should I know about that?" She glared at him. He sighed and grabbed his collar, opening the first button. "What are you doing?" She sat up abruptly.

He glared at her darkly and muttered sarcastically: "Getting undressed of course."

"Prat."

Harry's eyebrow shot up and with a smirk he told her: "Don't forget your promise, Weasley."

She stuck out her tongue. "I can't help it, if you say things like that."

"You insult guys that tell you they are getting undressed." She glared at him. "Interesting." He opened another button and fumbled for a second before pulling something out. "Look for yourself: not small and simple."

Ginny gaped at him and the locket around his neck. She leant forward, taking a closer look at it. He was right. One wouldn't describe it as simple. It was a locket of heavy gold with a serpentine S in glittery green stone inlay on the front. Slowly she reached for it, brushing against it lightly. Harry raised his head and supported it with his elbow, watching her attentively.

"It's..." She bit her lip, trying to come up with a word that fitted.

"Yeah, I know." He whispered.

She touched it again, running her fingers over it before closing her hand around it. "And a bit uuh... creepy."

Harry looked at her confused. "Why do you think so?"

She took hold of his hand and moved it towards the locket. When he grabbed it as well, she intertwined their fingers, so that they were both holding onto it. For a moment nothing happened before- "There! Did you feel that?"

He blinked. "Yes..."

"It's like its alive or something."

"Hmm..." He let go of her hand, letting the locket come to rest against his chest again. Ginny continued to hold it leaning towards him.

"Why are you wearing it?" she asked, not taking her eyes of the locket.

"It would look suspicious if I stopped."

Ginny nodded absent-minded.

His fingers brushed her hand. "You are really fascinated by it, aren't you?"

"Yeah, you think that's wrong?"

Harry shook his head softly. "No, not in the slightest."

She looked up and met his eyes. When had she come so close? "Don't tell anyone but..." She bit her lip. "Dark magic is kind of cool. You know those forbidden, dark things..." She trailed off. The corners of his mouth twitched.

"You don't have to tell me that."

Ginny blinked and looked down at their hands. Only then did she notice that he had started to caress her hand. She let go of the locket, which dropped onto his chest and slid down onto the bed. Her hand was now lying on his chest, covered by his own hand, still stroking it.

"Err..." escaped her mouth, staring at their hands. He stopped abruptly and pulled his hand back. She did the same and looked anywhere but at him. "So... does she wear a locket like this?"

He blinked. "What?"

"Does Lestrange wear a locket like this?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no. I don't think another Horcrux is a locket."

"Hmm..." Ginny's eyes drifted away and back towards him. "What about a ring?" She motioned towards his.

Harry lifted his hand and took a look at it. "No, Bella doesn't have a ring like mine. She only wears-"His eyes shot open. "Evra, you are a genius!" He sat up.

"Thank you... but... Evra?" Ginny frowned at him.

Harry grabbed one of his boots, putting it on.

Ginny watched him, stating dryly: "Harry you called me Evra."

He paused, looking over his shoulder at her. He smirked. "You don't like it?"

"My name is Ginny." She said confuse and unease building up inside of her. Was there another girl she should know about?

"Yes, I know." Hastily he pulled his other boot on and stood up.

"Am I supposed to understand you?" she asked, repeating his question from earlier. He turned around, facing her. "Why did you call me that?"

"I couldn't sleep." He finally said as if that would explain everything.

She blinked. "This doesn't explain a thing." She swallowed. "You know if it is another name of some girl you can just tell me, you know."

Harry stared at her. "It's not like that." He ran his hand through his hair, taking a breath. Was he nervous? She furrowed her brows. "Look: I couldn't sleep and thought about what I should call you because Jenny is kind of stupid and if a wizard or witch overhears me while I call you Ginny they might make the connection and Ginevra sounds... wrong? So I thought Evra for Ginevra."

Ginny stared at him, frowning deeply. "I hate it." She finally said, crossing her arms. "And I hate Jenny but you could have guessed that. And Ginevra is really wrong. My father calls me that. Or my mother when she is angry. But you won't." She glared at him. He rolled his eyes but nodded. "Just call me Ginny for Merlin's sake."

"But what if-"

"Really... wizards? Why would they think of me? You fucking killed me in case you've forgotten. They won't mistake random girls-" She pointed at her hair. "Who don't even look like Ginny Weasley for me. You on the other hand should stop looking like yourself if you are so concerned about someone recognising us." Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she stared at him.

His eyes hardened and his face grew expressionless again. Her eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth, ready to make a comment about it but he beat her to it. "I'm leaving."

Her fury increased but before she could say something about it, he had opened the door and closed it behind him. Silently fuming she collapsed back onto the bed. Idiot boy.

xxx

Idiot girl. He thought, marching down the corridors of Riddle Manor. She just- He glared at a Death Eater walking by who flinched away. She just had this way that made him calm one second and made him explode the next. In one moment she seemed to perfectly understand him, the next he thought she didn't know a thing. He didn't know how she could make him feel so comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. Sometimes she said such stupid things that he couldn't help thinking of her as a naive little girl. But then, only a sentence later she said something grown-up, something like she knew. But she didn't. Those were probably just lucky hits because whenever he tried to help her, she just exploded right into his face. If she knew, she wouldn't. But she did.

Him calling her Evra was just one example. Why was it that somewhere deep down inside of him, her reacting like this stung him even if it was only a tiny bit? Why the hell couldn't she just let him call her that? It was not like he wanted to change her damn name. It was to keep her safe because he would be so screwed if someone found out. She didn't only risk her own life, she risked his. If it was only her own, she could do whatever the hell she pleased. She could walk out, telling everyone who she was and then she would see where it led her. But it was not. And he had to keep her safe... he had to keep her safe not only because for his own sake but because she was a little girl, an innocent. Harry gritted his teeth. This would be so much easier if he hadn't this damn feeling towards children. Not that he ever regretted saving one but at some points she really brought him close.

But he was using her as well. Of course he had known that she would be useful. He ignored the little voice inside his head telling him differently. She helped him to get revenge. It was nothing more. As long it was all about revenge, he could keep her around. Later- that didn't matter anyway. There was revenge, nothing else. Voldemort had taken care of that after all. He would never have a normal life. He swallowed, trying to will the blazing anger aside. He couldn't explode on this now, not here.

And really- thinking about her while lying awake meant nothing. He just did that because what he should have been thinking about – Horcruxes of course – hadn't brought him forward. He had been too caught up in everything really important, so he had thought about her and her stupid name and ways to keep her safe. It did matter a bit after all... he had to keep her and what he had done a secret. But that was over now. He had a new clue, he could find out all about that so he didn't need to waste his time with stupid names any longer.

Neither did dreaming about her mean a thing. Or their stupid, stupid dance that he just couldn't get out of his mind. Or attacking that silly guy at the Destiny's. Amy was just wrong. She didn't understand. Of course not, how could she? She had no idea what was going on anyway. Ginny had just ruined things with Amy. Not that he cared too much about it. It had been a nice time, Amy had taken his mind of things but she had started to become too used to it anyway. She had become too clingy. So he hadn't argued that much about 'his feelings for Jenny'. But he didn't care for Ginny. Even if Amy pointed it out several times and that it was okay because they may be cousins but it was not forbidden.

Ginny just made him feel... mushy inside. Harry shuddered. This was so wrong anyway. When she was there he just forgot- no, he didn't forget about his training but somehow it didn't really matter that much. A few months ago he would have never thought lying down with another person present than Voldemort to be possible. Of course there had been Hogwarts – but he had warded off his bed as much as possible and tried to only sleep when they were sleeping... but with Ginny- it wasn't so important then to watch his back, to keep standing all the time, ready to fight if necessary, to not focus on only one thing... and this was terrible. In times like these he couldn't go around not paying attention. He had to be sure that no one was following them, that no one tracked him or her, that no one overheard them talking, he had to make sure he was ready to fight every bloody second. And that didn't only apply for times like these. It was always a horrible thing to lose concentration.

And how he acted around her wasn't like him anyway. He never behaved like that. Why was it that whenever he didn't watch his hands they ended up touching hers? Side-along-apparition while holding hands- really? Luckily she wasn't a Slytherin or she would have noticed that he could have just taken her arm instead or that she could have held onto his arm. And brushing her hand while he allowed her to touch his father's Horcrux? This was quite surely a sign that he was slowly going insane... and what did she think of him? What did she think he was doing?

He shook his head slightly. Why was he even thinking about what she might think about him? It didn't matter. Not in the slightest. He would just stop doing these things, behaving like that. He would focus more on everything else and not on her. He would just sort out this mess with the next Horcrux and avoid her for the next few days – luckily he had put some money in her bag, so that she would be able to survive if she wasn't caught in some attack – and then everything would be as normal as it could be in this situation.

xxx

While he had sat down for dinner that evening – it was only Bella present because Lucius and Voldemort were going over some plans – he had taken a short look at the Black's family ring. Of course she wore it. As long as Harry could remember she had worn it. This was a good sign but it didn't have to mean anything. But the ring could be a Horcrux, not only because she always wore it but it meant something to Voldemort. The Black family was after all one family that had supported him from the start.

Harry had leisurely leant back, taunting Bella through dinner. Of course she joined in, bragging and boasting that she was the best dueller, that she was the most loyal follower, that the Dark Lord favoured her the most. He had contradicted her, telling her that he could prove that he was, whereas she could not... and then he had shown her the locket. It was a risky move but she was there, holding up her hand and he had known. He had called it a draw but she had just smirked, telling him that there was no such thing for her.

When he had finally been able to leave, he had done so at once, retiring to his rooms. He had watched the memory over and over again in his pensieve. Not because he wanted to enjoy the satisfaction of tricking her into showing off but because to watch the ring from every angle. Now he only had to find a way to fake it.

A week later with only a few hours of sleep, not seeing Ginny at all and pretending to be training while in reality he read, brew potions and practised illusions, Harry managed it. If one took a look at the ring that had once been very normal, it looked like the original Black ring. It would even be able to function like the original ring, meaning Bella could send emergency calls with it and they would arrive. It was keyed into the wards, so they wouldn't react and detect it as something foreign. It was everything but a Horcrux. In short it was perfect. But there was a part of Harry that was really, really scared of the moment Voldemort might see it for the first time. Would he know?

After his conversation with Ginny, he had started to wear the locket as little as possible because something had indeed moved inside of it... even if it had never done that before. At least Harry had never noticed that and it was resting against his skin for Merlin's sake. Harry wouldn't put it past the dark, ancient magic to recognise who touched it. What the intentions towards and the relationship with its owner were. He had never worried about that. He didn't have to. But now that things were different, that they had changed... what could a Horcrux do to him? What would Voldemort know about it? Would he know if something happened to it? Would he know who touched it? Would he somehow feel it if something changed? Would he know that Harry wasn't as loyal anymore?

The first time he had seen Voldemort after the incident with Ginny, he had nearly held his breath. But nothing had happened. He hadn't noticed that Voldemort was suddenly more interested in where he went or that there were Death Eaters following him around... nothing had changed and so he had concluded that at last Voldemort didn't know what happened to his Horcruxes. But that didn't mean he couldn't sense them when they were near or that he knew if something happened to them. They contained part of his soul after all. But the only thing he could do about that was reading as much books as he could about them – there were several in their library of course – and hope that that wasn't the case. He hadn't found a clue about that in any books yet but he knew that this could mean both things. There was only one thing left then: to try it, to exchange the real ring with the fake one and if Voldemort noticed, Harry had to play it cool... no one would suspect him first, right?

That was where he was now: inside the small cottage that belonged to Bellatrix which was located in Cornwall. He hadn't been here often; he was even quite sure that he had been here only once. It had been after Rodolphus' funeral. He had visited the grave outside and been inside the house shortly, trying to sneak out undetected again. Bella had caught him. She had sat at the very kitchen table he was now staring at. When she had seen him, she had brought him back to the Manor instantly. They had never wanted him to be there but he had managed to travel there by floo. He had wanted to say goodbye to Rodolphus. They hadn't even allowed him to attend the burial after all.

For a second his eyes wandered towards one of the windows, searching for the gravestone. He couldn't make it out of course. It was pitch-black outside. Harry shook his head, trying to focus on why he was there, nothing else. He sneaked to the next door, silently opening it. It felt wrong being there, doing this. He had repeated it already several times in his head: this was about revenge. This was not about Bella. It wouldn't hurt her. It wasn't wrong to go behind their backs. It wasn't wrong to do this.

Finally he found the bedroom, silently entering and closing the door behind him. He could make out Bella's form, lying in her bed. He made his way over to her, nearly tripping over her clothes lying around. When he arrived by her side he watched the parts of her face he could make out. He swallowed several times, trying to get rid of the lump that had formed in his throat. He reached out slowly, pulling the sheets back. She mumbled something and turned around. Cursing silently he tried to make out her hands. He couldn't. His thoughts raced. He could light his wand. She could wake. He could use a body-bind on her. She would wake. He could try finding her hands in the dark. He nearly snorted at what she would do, waking up, finding someone groping around. That would go over really well.

Silently he lighted his wand. She moved in the bed, suddenly sitting up, suddenly standing, her wand pointing at him, the first curse emerging from it. He ducked to the side and put out the light of his wand. He fired a stunner into her direction but it seemed to connect with something else. A loud crash sounded in the room. Harry threw up a shield and not a second too late. Another curse met it, dissolving into nothing.

"Bella, it's me."

The lights suddenly went on. He forced himself not to blink at the sudden bright light and concentrated on his shield instead.

"Harry?"

When he saw her lowering her wand, he let his shield disappear.

"What are you doing here?" While she took a few steps towards him, he discreetly raised his wand. "In the middle of the night? Sneaking around? Has something happened? Is it the Dark Lord? Should I come-" A quick freezing charm and a levitating charm later, she lay in her bed, staring up at him, not able to move more than her eyes. They were widened, silently asking him what was going on, the dark assumption that he was an impostor in them. He looked away from her face, reaching over to her hand. He slipped the ring off and pocketed it, while putting on the fake one.

Her eyes were even wider when he met them again. He only looked at her for a moment. "I know the truth now." He could see in her eyes how she tried to struggle free from his spell. She couldn't.

He raised his wand again, pointing it at her. He concentrated. Her eyes rolled around in panic, trying to beg him to see reason. He didn't. He thought of his younger self, begging, screaming, in pain. The anger came back and how she looked mattered nothing any longer. "Oblivate!" The spell hit her, her eyes cleared. With an expressionless voice he told her what she remembered and that she would go back to sleep now. Then he cancelled the spells, turned around and left, without looking back once.

xxx

AN: First things first: Thanks a lot for agreeing to be my new beta readers: Running River and lord sangreal.

Furthermore I want to call your attention to my profile because there you can find the writing status of this fanfiction now. If you are wondering how much I've worked on the next chapter already, you can find out there. I hope I manage to update it regularly.

And: I wrote a short oneshot (which has nothing to do with TL). It's titled "Why James and not Severus?". Obviously it deals with Lily's choice and gives a possible answer to that question. If you are interested... let me know what you think.