Chapter Twenty Five

Ron couldn't help but stare in amazement as Malfoy struggled to get to his feet, clutching his jaw while glaring at Sirius who smirked as he walked to Harry's side. Ron glanced at Snape who now had the horcrux in his hand but Snape seemed bored and was standing so close to the wall that Ron felt he wanted to lean against it.

Ron turned his gaze to Malfoy as he glared at Sirius and he pointed his wand at Harry and Sirius. "Incendio!" He barked out.

"Aguamenti!" Sirius and Harry shouted at the same time and the water instantly doused the flames.

Snape straightened up at that but Ron noticed that his wand was in the hand that had caught the ring. He had a feeling he knew what Snape was about to do and he resisted the urge to smile at the simple solution to getting the horcrux back into the hands of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Sectumsempra!" Snape barked out casting the spell, and accidentally on purpose dropping the ring onto the grass. The spell flew across the air and Sirius and Harry quickly pulled up a shield that deflected the blow. Snape moved quickly to Malfoy's side, leaving the way clear for Ron to grab the ring.

While Malfoy was distracted, Ron glanced at his other friends and gestured at the Death Eaters who were keeping them pinned to the wall. They understood and quickly lashed out with spells against the two Death Eaters in front of them, successfully distracting them enough for Ron to dash to the spot where the ring had been dropped and picking it up before stuffing it into his pockets.

Remus jogged to his side, his wand held at a ready but his back was to Snape, clearly sensing that Sirius and Harry could take care of themselves. Ron and Remus leapt side by side to join in the battle against Lestrange and Goyle Sr.

The battle went on.

A combined spell by Harry and Sirius sent Malfoy flying backwards into Gregory and Snape was left to deal with Sirius and Harry. When Malfoy wasn't looking, Ron noticed that the Potions Professor was back to looking bored.

Ron jogged to join Draco who was struggling to fend off Bellatrix. Ginny had been repelled into the wall and was clutching her head. Luna and Neville were sagging against the wall, exhausted while Hermione stood in front of them, a shield charm covering the three of them. Bellatrix growled angrily before she cast a spell but Draco and Ron quickly deflected it back at the Death Eater.

Malfoy had seen Snape catch the horcrux, Ron knew that much, and so he focused his attention on given the others a chance to get away. Snape dodged past a spell tossed at him from Sirius and Harry before quickly apparating to Malfoy's side.

"They have the horcrux!" Harry shouted. He had seen Ron pick up the horcrux but that didn't mean the Death Eaters had to know that.

Luckily, he, Ron, Sirius and Remus were the only ones that knew Snape had dropped the ring.

"Incendio!" the nine companions shouted at the same time and Malfoy snarled before quickly casting the water spell to douse the flames that flew at them.

"Repellio," Draco shouted ducking beneath the fire to cast the spell that sent Malfoy and LeStrange flying backwards.

Malfoy snarled at his son before a bone crushing curse was sent flying at Draco, slamming into his arm and sending him flying. A cry of pain escaped Draco's lips as he clutched his shattered arm and Luna quickly crawled to his side to guide him into the shield that was protecting them.

"Expelliarmus!" Hermione shouted but the spell was easily deflected.

At that moment, however, Ron smiled before watching as more beings began to apparate into the area. He watched as Dumbledore appeared followed by Tonks, Moody and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Snarling in fury, Malfoy pointed his wand at Dumbledore. "We've won, old man," he hissed before he apparated away and LeStrange and Goyle quickly followed him. Snape nodded his head once toward Ron and also disappeared after his fellow Death Eaters.

Dumbledore immediately walked over to Ron while Tonks jogged over to help Luna get Draco to his feet. "The horcrux?" he asked quietly.

Ron reached into his pocket before handing the ring to Dumbledore who took it in his hands and examined it for a long moment. He nodded once as if confirming that it was indeed the horcrux before he tucked it into his robes. "Come on, let's get you back to headquarters," he said quietly.

Harry was walking alongside Sirius, grinning ear to ear as he gazed at his godfather. "I can't believe you punched Lucius Malfoy!" He exclaimed.

"You punched Malfoy!" Moody exclaimed.

Sirius shrugged. "He deserved it."

"But why didn't you curse or hex him?"

"I didn't think of that until afterwards," Sirius admitted.

Moody sighed before rolling his eyes skyward.

"Come along, come along before the Irish Ministry Officials show up," Dumbledore said. He placed a hand on Ron's shoulder. "We'll sidelong apparate," he added.

Sirius summoned his broom to his hand before placing a hand on Harry's shoulder while Remus walked over to join Hermione and the Order members gradually picked one of the seven companions before they apparated directly into Grimmauld's Place.

"Now where is the horcrux?" Voldemort demanded glaring at Severus.

"I must have dropped it," Severus replied smoothly. "In the thick of the fighting, I had not realized that the hand with which I cast the spell was carrying the horcrux and it must have fallen out. It would not have happened, I am sure, had we had a better advantage."

"Yes," Voldemort hissed glaring at Lucius. "Why did you not get more Death Eaters there?"

Lucius cast Severus a 'thanks a lot' glare before he quickly rambled off a series of excuses, most of which were dealing with the fact that Harry and his friends could have gotten away. Voldemort was so angry that he used the Cruciatus curse on every one of his followers, including those that had not been a part of the final attack at the wall surrounding the manor.

"We will continue searching for the other three," he said when he lifted the curse. "Severus, go back to Dumbledore and continue trying to gather information on the horcruxes' location."

"Yes my lord."

"Then do that." With that, the dark lord apparated away clearly still angry and the other Death Eaters, with glares at Severus and Lucius, quickly followed him.

Lucius glowered at Severus. "Severus..." he began.

"I must get going. I would not want to anger the dark lord any more than he already is," Severus said smoothly before he apparated away to Prince Manor. He quickly dispensed with the robes and mask before apparating into Grimmauld's Place; it was about time he had a stern talking to with his wayward ward.

He walked into the conference room and noticed that everyone was there. Dumbledore was examining the ring, Harry was getting scolded by Sirius, Ginny and Ron were getting scolded by Molly Weasley, Draco was getting his arm seen to, Neville was getting scolded by his gran and Hermione and Luna were added into the scolding issued by the Weasley mother.

Dumbledore glanced at him. "The dark lord isn't too happy, is he?" he asked.

Severus sneered. "That is an understatement," he replied sitting down and rubbing his head a few times. "I take it Mr. Weasley managed to get my hint in time."

"You took a great risk in just dropping it, Severus," Dumbledore said.

Severus shrugged. "I managed to move the blame from me to Lucius," he said. He sneered before adding, "He deserved the blame after that," he pointed to Draco's arm.

"I suppose so but still, it could have been a lot worse."

"Yes but the Order was able to get the horcrux away from the dark lord and now we can destroy it," Severus said.

Harry smiled. "I knew something good would come from this," he said.

Severus glowered at his ward. "You may have retrieved one horcrux, Harry," he said curtly. "But there are still three more and I doubt you will find yourself on another reckless adventure."

Harry winced. "Sirius already scolded me," he said.

"Yes but I am your legal guardian and I am sourly tempted to ground you until your graduate Hogwarts." Severus smirked when Harry's eyes went wide with shock at that.

"You can't," he protested.

"Yes, actually, I can."

Sirius snorted. "For once, I actually agree that this might be the best punishment," he said.

"Why is everyone against me?" Harry protested.

"Because what you did was utterly reckless and you could have gotten yourself killed," Severus snapped. "When you discovered the location of the horcrux, you should have gone to a teacher immediately, more specifically a member of the Order such as Black or myself. Why didn't you?"

"Because he doesn't trust adults," Hermione said softly while Harry tossed her a 'thanks a lot' glare.

Severus narrowed his eyes before he realized exactly what Hermione meant. "Your relatives," he guessed before he sighed when he remembered the Dursleys' deplorable treatment of Harry. "Harry, you know that you can trust me. Have I given you any reason not to trust me?" He asked.

Harry swallowed before shaking his head.

"Why did you not come to me then?"

Harry hesitated. "I knew it wouldn't have done any good," he said softly.

"Harry, if you had told me then I could have told Dumbledore before I had to report to the dark lord."

"But you might not have believed me. No adult has ever believed me before," Harry said quietly.

Severus let out a long sigh, knowing full well that he would have to have a long talk with his ward. He stood up, a bit unsteadily since he hadn't had a chance to take the pain relieving potion, and glanced at Harry. "Come, Harry," he said.

Harry scrambled to his feet before hurrying after his guardian as Severus led the way out of the conference room. They walked into the dining room before Severus gestured for his ward to sit before he took a seat across from him. "I know that your relatives treated you horribly, Harry," he said quietly getting straight to the point. "And their deplorable treatment is what turned you against trusting adults or thinking they'll believe you when you tell them something important."

"But you could have trusted me with the truth. I would have gone straight to Dumbledore and you know I would have. What you did today was reckless; not only did you endanger your life but you also endangered the lives of your friends."

"They insisted on coming," Harry protested. "I knew it would be dangerous so I told them that I'd go alone but they insisted on coming, even Draco insisted. They threatened to follow me if they had to but they didn't want me to go into this alone."

"You have true friends, Harry, even if you may have gotten them killed today."

Harry winced. "I didn't think the dark lord would find out about the location of the ring," he whispered. "I mean the dream that showed me the location of the ring did not come from him. In fact...it sort of came from my mother. That's why I went after the horcrux, Severus, because my mother appeared in my vision as if trying to tell me to go after the horcrux."

"Lily may have been a determined young woman but she was not reckless like your father, Harry. Whether or not she had intended for you to go on this quest, it is still obvious that you were reckless enough to agree to it."

"With Umbridge in charge, I knew if I didn't go after it then it was more likely that the dark lord would get it. I knew that if I can destroy the five remaining horcruxes then Voldemort may be weak enough for Dumbledore to take out. That's all I wanted, I wanted to end this war before it even started. Is that so wrong? Is it so wrong for me to want to prevent more deaths?"

Severus let out a long sigh as he examined his ward; Harry looked on the verge of tears. He was about to reply when Harry whispered.

"I do not want someone else to die because of me."

Severus let out a long sigh knowing full well that his ward still bore the guilt of Cedric's death as well as the death of his parents. "Those deaths were not your fault, Harry," he said quietly.

Harry swallowed. "But it is my fault," he whispered. "The dark lord has been after me since I was a baby. Anyone he kills to get to me is my fault, I caused them to die."

"Did you hold the wand that cast the spell? Did you utter the words that killed them?"

"No."

"Then it is not your fault. They died because the dark lord is a monster and will kill anyone who gets in his way of dominating all of Britain," Severus said.

Harry shook his head. "I am sorry, Severus," he whispered. "I only wanted to help prevent more deaths. I'm sorry." There were tears in Harry's eyes, falling from behind the round glasses that had been cracked during the battle but had repaired itself magically. "I'm sorry, Severus."

For a long moment, Severus just gazed at his ward. "Harry, what you did was very brave even if it was reckless. I may not like it but you did accomplish something that some would never be able to do; you outsmarted the dark lord," he said softly.

"I disappointed you though."

"Yes you did but that is only because I was afraid for you. I was afraid that you might have been injured or I might have been forced to injure you more than I did. Worse than that, I feared you might be killed," Severus said quietly.

Harry's tear-filled eyes went wide with shock. "Y...You actually feared for me?" he echoed.

"Of course, brat. I do not speak just to listen to my own voice like your mangy mutt of a godfather."

"I heard that," Black shouted.

"Stop eavesdropping, this is a private conversation," Severus called back.

Black snorted and Severus glowered before casting a Silencing spell over him and his ward, knowing full well that Black wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon. "Harry, have you thought about what would happen to everyone who cares about you if you died? Granger, the Weasleys, Lovegood, Malfoy, Longbottom, me."

Harry lowered his head looking more ashamed than ever. "I just wanted to stop people from dying," he whispered.

"I know, Harry, I know."

Tears started to fall rapidly from Harry's eyes and before Severus knew it, he found his arms suddenly full of sobbing fifteen-year-old boy. He held Harry, comforting him as best as he could while at the same time relaxing for the first time in several long days. Harry was alive and, no matter what happened before then, safe and that was all that mattered at that moment.

Harry sobbed into his guardian's chest for a long moment, comforted by the strong arms that were wrapped around his slender body but still unable to hold back the tears. The Dursleys always got mad at him when he cried and always locked him in a cupboard but Snape didn't do that, Snape did exactly what a parent was supposed to do when their child cried, he comforted him.

Harry swallowed before pulling away from his guardian. "Sorry," he whispered.

Snape didn't reply, he just kept his arms around Harry and watched him for a long moment. "You need to cry, Harry, it's all right to cry sometimes," he said quietly.

Harry rested his head on his guardian's chest and for a long moment stayed in the comfort of his guardian's arms. "Are we going to get into trouble for this?" he asked.

"Knowing Dumbledore, probably not. You did do him a good service by finding one of the five, now four, remaining horcruxes after all, we just need to find the other four."

"Can I help?"

Snape's lips quirked. "Really Harry? You just barely survived this latest adventure of yours and now you want to go on another one. How typically Gryffindor of you," he said not unkindly.

Harry flushed. "I just want to help," he whispered.

"I know you do, Harry, but this is something for adults to take care of."

Harry gazed at his guardian for a long moment. "Please Severus," he whispered. "Please. I just wanna help."

Snape let out a long sigh. "I am sorry but no," he said. "This war is not for you to focus on, you need to focus on school and let the adults worry about the oncoming war."

"I don't want you to get hurt, Severus," Harry protested. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt or die because of me. The dark lord is after me, he has always been after me, and he won't stop until he gets me. Why should I stay studying to graduate Hogwarts when I know that the dark lord will be killing people constantly to get to me? Why?"

Snape, Harry could tell, did not have an answer.

"Harry, you don't know what you're getting yourself into," he said quietly after a moment. "This war should not concern you and yet it does."

"It does?" Harry asked.

Snape nodded. "Dumbledore wanted me to tell you this when summer vacation came around but I suppose today's as good a day as any. The prophecy that I delivered to the dark lord speaks of the child of the family who thrice defied him but another part says this: "The one who may defeat the dark lord approaches. The dark lord shall see him as his equal but he shall know a power the dark lord knows not. Neither one can live while the other survives." That part I didn't learn until much later."

Harry's eyes were huge. "So I have to kill him or he has to kill me?" he whispered.

"I do not believe in prophecy, Harry, but yes that is the general meaning."

"Then this war does concern me. If I am to face the dark lord then I should have everything on my side, including the destruction of the four remaining horcruxes."

Snape gently hugged him. "Harry, the quest for the horcruxes is something that cannot be taking lightly, especially not with the fact that you and I will be forced to be enemies throughout the entire quest," he said quietly.

Harry knew this was true and yet a part of him wished with all of his heart that he could go on this quest with his guardian at his side. "I know," he said softly. "I wish we did not have to be enemies but I know that your cover is providing the Order with much needed information."

"Harry, since I am sure if I tell you to not go after the other horcruxes then it's likely you'll ignore my order, just do something for me."

"What?"

"Be careful."

Harry nodded. "I will, Severus," he replied softly.

Three days passed since the battle on Ireland and Draco was glad to be back in the safety of Hogwarts. Dumbledore was still in hiding and Umbridge was at Azkaban so McGonagall and Snape were teaming up to lead the school while they waited for Dumbledore to come back. The Slytherins were still shocked that Draco was spending so much time with Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws were acting the same way when Luna started hanging out with the Gryffindor members of the DA club as well.

Draco knew that it was a start to finally getting over the rivalries that always divided the four houses at Hogwarts but he also knew that it would be a long time coming before the rivalries could be permanently removed. His arm still in a sling, Draco walked over to join Harry at the Gryffindor table before sitting down beside him.

Harry glanced at him. "How's your arm, Draco?" he asked.

"Healing. Madame Pomfrey said that it should be fine in a couple more days," Draco replied.

Harry nodded. "That's good," he said.

"So what happened with the ring?" Ron asked.

"Dumbledore destroyed it," Harry replied quietly. "I don't know all the details but Snape told me that Dumbledore destroyed the ring soon after we came back to Hogwarts."

"One down, four more to go," Luna said dreamily.

"Yeah, four more but where are they located?"

Hermione sighed. "Are you seriously thinking of going after them, Harry?" she asked.

Harry had cast a Silencing spell over them, Draco noticed that almost immediately because no one else was watching them. "Yes, I'm planning on going after the remaining four," he replied. "I don't know where they are but I want to find them."

"I'm with you, mate," Ron said.

"So am I," Hermione said.

"Me too," Ginny added.

"Me too," Neville said.

"You don't..." Harry began.

Draco snorted. "I, for one, am not letting you have all the fun," he said.

"I want to come along too," Luna said quietly.

"I don't want to put all of you into any more danger," Harry said quietly.

"Er...we sort of got into that danger ourselves, if you remember, Harry. We insisted on coming, remember?" Hermione said.

"True," Harry admitted. "But you don't have to come with me."

"We want to," Ginny said quietly.

Harry sighed before he smiled faintly. "I just realized something," he said quietly.

"What's that?" Luna asked.

"We have something Voldemort doesn't."

"Yeah?" Ron asked.

Harry smiled before gazing at his friends and briefly glancing at his guardian sitting at the staff table. "Something worth fighting for," he replied.

Draco smiled in agreement. "Yes we do," he agreed.

"That's something Voldemort will never comprehend. The meaning of friendship and the meaning of love," Hermione said.

Harry nodded and Draco could tell that he agreed with the statement more than he was letting on. "Yes," he agreed. He canceled the silencing charm before glancing up as the bell beginning the first class of the day rang.

Getting to his feet, Harry, Draco and their friends began to make their way to their first class, knowing full well that a quest lay before them, a quest that will began once school ended in about a month's time. Whether or not they would come back from this quest was undecided but Draco had a feeling that with his friends at his side he could make it through anything tossed at him.

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: this was a short chapter

Darth: yup it was, I thought you were going to make it 8 pages

Blaze: I decided to end it there

Darth: ah okay

Blaze: on another note, for a later chapter since I know I am likely to get flamed for this but in this story, the Ministry's rule is that magic cannot be used by witches and wizards that are underage unless they need to defend themselves or they are not in the presence of muggles

Darth: so don't flame her if you see her using that in future chapters because that is the rule that she created

Blaze: don't like, don't read. This is set in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE after all

Darth: will you stop yelling?

Blaze: I just wished to get the point across

Darth: ah okay

Blaze: so please review and I'll post chapter 26 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it will be anytime soon and sorry about the long author's note