Chapter Twenty Six – Looking for little Islands.

It was a quiet Harry and Hermione that had left the bank a little while later. They had finished the conversation with Ragnok and before they had left they had visited their new vault. To say that they had been stunned was a slight understatement. The piles of gold were huge and the number of piles faded into the darkness of the huge vault. Griphook had shown them the balance but there comes a point when there are just too many noughts at the end of a number for it to have any meaning. The goblin had tried to tell them that they owned over ninety percent of the Wizarding world's gold, but they really didn't take the information on board. As well as the huge pile of gold in the vault there were many other beautiful items including jewels and precious gems, swords and armour as well as clothing. Hermione was drawn to some of the early books that were in a corner of the vault. They both avoided the two crowns that sat on a golden table in the centre of the vault. They were both fairly simple in design when compared with the currents monarch's crown; essentially nothing more than thin circlets of gold, one smaller than the other. They were however beautiful wrought with exquisite detail on the gold. It was clear that they were designed for a man and a woman, but it was what they represented that caused the pair to avoid them. They seemed to glow slightly in the dim light and both teens could feel the two crowns calling to them with an odd sort of pull that tugged at their magic.

Avoiding them Harry had found a beautiful bracelet of solid gold that he put on Hermione's wrist. It was about an inch thick and according to the label it had belonged to Queen Guinevere. It was covered in small emeralds and detailed carving of vine leaves and flowers covered the gold. Hermione had loved the bangle and with tears in her eyes had gently kissed her 'king'. After about half an hour of exploring they left the vault and asking Griphook for a complete accounting off all their holding and assets to be complied and forwarded to them; they left the bank.

They were walking along Diagon Alley in a bit of a daze, Harry holding Hermione's hand gently as they walked.

"Harry, I don't want to go back just yet, I need a sit down and a drink. Come on let's go into London and find a cafe." She finally said after a long silence as they both processed all that had happened to them.

"Okay, come on then." He replied and they both entered the Leaky Cauldron and exited into Muggle London. They were both slightly startled by the sudden assault of noise that came from the busy street but they soon found themselves a nice coffee outlet. Seated with coffee and a pastry they sat in silence as they drank their drinks and ate there food.

"Well..." Harry began

"Yes..." Hermione said after a moment.

"Wow..."

"Yeah..."

"So...?"

"So..."

Harry laughed at the pair of them before taking a deep breath.

"Well, you Majesty, what are we going to do about all of this?" he asked with a grin.

Hermione giggled at him before her expression turned serious. "We do NOT want anyone else to know about this, it would make our lives impossible...well more impossible than they are right now."

"Yeah...but all that gold 'Mione, it's almost obscene." He muttered.

"Yes it is, but we are hopefully going to be around for a very long time, and we can do a lot of good things for the world with that amount. I just hope you don't think I got together with you for your money." She said in a small voice.

"Hermione Jean Potter! Number one, we got together before we knew anything about the money, and two, and this a big one... It's OUR money, what's mine is yours etcetera, etcetera remember." He scolded her.

She looked down with a contrite expression on her face; that was until Harry gently lifted her chin with his hand and kissed her softly on the lips.

#You are mine, now and forever.# he thought to her.

#Now and forever.# she replied and kissed him back.

"What next love?" she asked.

"Well, we better get back to Hogwarts and check out that lake, I have a feeling things are coming to a head with Tom and we need to be ready."

"Oh no, that means brooms and flying." She moaned.

"Hey, don't what you are moaning about, my little immortal, it's not like you can hurt yourself."

"Git!" she said.

"You've already called me that love!" he told her with a grin.

She glared at him and did the only sensible thing she could think off; she stuck her tongue out at him, causing Harry to burst out laughing, which she soon followed.

I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.

Severus Snape woke up in a damp and dim room. There was a cold stone floor stretching out in front of him and he was laid on a rough wooden cot, with no blanket. The only source of light was a narrow window high up on the wall. The door was a metal cell style door with only a covered round window in the centre. There was no handle or keyhole and no obvious other way out. In the corner of the room was a steel bucket and a single dripping tap. It was cold, damp and unpleasant. As he laid there he tried to remember the events of the previous evening. He remembered going to the bar and the lack of respect that was shown to him by the occupants. He remembered been thrown out of the bar, along with a few missing teeth and a few extra bruises, but then...

'Oh Shit!' he thought to himself. 'The Aurors!" he thought as he instinctively felt for his wand. With a sigh he remembered loosing the item in the bar and shut his eyes and groaned. "Bloody Aurors!" he muttered as he recalled the events of the previous night. Not British Aurors, but a mixture of American and Mexican forces had accosted the potions master in the alleyway. With no wand and no other weapons the fight was quick and brief and the outcome was always going to be inevitable.

'How did they find me?' he thought to himself. 'I am so buggered!...but maybe I can talk my way out of this, they may grant me asylum.'

As he thought he heard the door unlock, he looked up and saw the one person he did not want to see.

"Hello Snape!" said Kingsley Shacklebolt. "We have been looking for you." He said with an evil grin.

"Shit!" said Snape.

I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.

Harry and Hermione left the coffee shop a little while later and were walking hand in hand along the street, Harry quickly cast a 'notice-me-not' charm over the pair of them and as they walked they faded away...

...only to re-appear walking down the corridors of Hogwarts towards the classroom they earlier been using. They were disturbed by a scream as both Lavender and Parvati stood open mouthed as they watched them appear like ghosts. Hermione grinned at her house mates and Harry winked at them as they walked into the classroom. They were just about to enter the room when a voice called out.

"Harry…. Hermione please wait." Lavender called out. The pair stopped and turned around to see the blonde witch walking towards them with a pensive look on her face. Parvati was stood at the end of the corridor, unsure of what to do.

"Lavender, how may we help you?" Harry asked politely.

Lavender took a deep breath and looked at Harry.

"Harry, where's Ron? Is he alright?" she asked. "I know something's happened and you were going to tell me when you first came back to the school, but we never seemed to be able to get around to the conversation. I'm worried about him." She finished.

Harry sighed and glanced at Hermione who had tears forming in her eyes. Taking a deep breath he took the young blonde hand and smiled a sad smile at her.

"Lavender, it's not an easy thing to say, but I very sad to tell you that Ron is dead. He's been dead for many years, since he was ten years of age…"

"No….No that's not possible…..No!" Lavender said starting to shake.

"Lav, the creature that we all knew as Ron was in fact a demon, a Soul Demon that had attacked him when he was a young boy. He tried to kill Hermione and me and is intent of killing many, many people, you included."

He had to hold the blonde up as her legs gave way beneath her. Gently lowering her to the ground he knelt next to her as she sobbed.

"But….But I ….I slept with him. Oh Sweet Merlin, I even thought I might have been pregnant by him, but it was a false alarm. Oh God, what am I going to do….I loved him so much." She wailed. Hermione had beckoned Parvati over and the two young women tried to comfort the distraught Gryffindor.

"Lavender, you need to keep this quiet. We don't want anyone else to know as it will put them at risk. As it is I need you to contact your parents and give them this portkey. It will take them to my house where they will be safe. When you leave here, you will need to go to the house as well. Ron may use you as bait to get to me or Hermione." He told her, handing her a small length of rope that he had just created.

"Don't use that name!" she snarled, now angry. "Ron is dead, that creature killed him and took my innocence. He does not deserve that good name." she said, startling Harry with the depth of her anger.

#Anger's good Harry, she can work when she's angry.# came the thought from Hermione.

Lavender looked up at Harry with a needy look. "You are going to go after it aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes, Lav we have to." He told her.

"Good! When you kill it, spit on it from me will you?" she asked.

Harry just nodded and once more Lavender collapsed crying in the arms of Parvati.

"I'll take her to the tower; we can get some food sent up." The Indian witch told them. She led the sobbing witch away leaving Harry with a sad Hermione in his arms.

"That's was…..crap!" she said.

"Yeah I know." Harry told her.

"Merlin, what if she had got pregnant, what the hell would have happened?"

"I don't know; I don't want to even think about it." He replied.

They stood for a while in each other's arms before turning back to the classroom.

As they entered they found the room empty with just the table left in the centre on the room. On the table lay a folded piece of parchment. Walking up to it, Harry picked it up and opened it, reading silently he smiled and looked over at his wife.

"We are to meet them in the Great Hall for lunch and then we will go investigate the lake. They have found you a nice Cleansweep broom that is very stable and won't go to fast or high. Madam Hooch has left it in the changing rooms near the pitch. I am to use one of the school ones...bugger that!" he said. Concentrating for a moment, he waved his hand over the table causing a familiar looking broomstick to appear. He heard Hermione gasp in surprise.

"Harry, that looks like your Firebolt, I thought you lost that when we tried to run from your Aunts house for the last time?" she asked.

"I did, it fell out of Hagrid's motorbike, and this is an exact replica that I've conjured." He said.

"Harry, that's impossible, even for us. You may conjure something that looks like your Firebolt but you cannot conjure something that will work like a Fire..." she broke off as Harry, grinning at her held the broom at waist height and let go, it floated and was positively vibrating with power.

"You were saying my lovely Bookworm?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

"How? What? ...How?" she said.

"Well that sounded intelligent love!" Harry said, earning a thump on his arm. "Ow! Be careful of the hero. Us hero's bruise easily." He teased.

"You Bugger! Now you explain...NOW!" she told him with a mock scowl on her face.

Harry looked at her, with her lip pouting slightly. Never did she look lovelier he thought as he leant across and kissed her upturned lips.

"Think 'Mione, you have the knowledge. We were given it when we were resurrected for the first time. It's only since the last few days that the knowledge has started to make some sort of sense." He said. Hermione looked at him for a moment before her gaze turned inward. She started to bite her bottom lip in the way she did when she was concentrating. Harry found it irresistible and fought the urge to take her right there. Suddenly she gasped as the knowledge clicked into place within her brain.

"Merlin, oh sweet Merlin…wow!" she said as the power flowed through her. She could feel it tingling in her body and it made her fingers twitch as it coursed through her. She took Harry's hand and the power soared as his mingled with hers. As they embraced their eyes began to glow and the magic began to stream out of them in coloured ribbons within the air. They both kissed each other with a rare passion as the magic embraced them both. Finally they both calmed down and the magical storm subsided somewhat.

"Come on 'Mione, we need to get to the Hall for lunch." Harry said. They walked to the door which opened magically for them as they approached it. They strolled down the corridor unaware that other students were watching them as they approached the doors to the Great Hall. Entering the hall; the conversation died as people observed the pair enter the Hall. Unknown to the magical pair, as they walked they were leaving in their wake odd afterimages of themselves, almost like a timed delayed image of the pair, along with streamers of coloured magical energy. People were staring open mouthed at the oblivious couple, so enraptured they were in their own minds with each other. Neville ran up to them and placed his hand gently on Harry's arm.

"Harry! You're…. Well I don't know what you're doing but people are looking!" he grated. Harry looked around at the hall as if for the first time and saw the open mouthed stares of the students and staff alike; before he looked behind them and saw the magical streamers and after-images. With an embarrassed grin both he and Hermione managed to get a lid on their magic and the after-effects vanished.

"Oops, Sorry everyone!" he called out, causing a slight giggle to run around the hall. Harry and Hermione blushed as they slowly walked to the Gryffindor table and took their seats. Luna was already sat there, much to the confusion of some of the other Lions, and was grinning like a loon.

"Nice entrance you two! Boy do you know how to make an impression." She giggled. In front of her was a small dish containing her new favourite of blood cake. A few of the closest students were looking a little green as they had watched the vampire eat the concoction with relish before the interruption. As she looked up at her friends, a small dribble of blood fell down her chin.

"Oopsie, sorry." She giggled as she licked the dribble away, her fangs clearly visible.

"Oh Luna! Who volunteered this time?" Hermione asked with a smile. Ginny raised her hand, looking a little nauseous herself.

"Me, it was okay and didn't hurt once she taught me the spell, but blood and cake!?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's great. Wanna bit?" Luna asked, raising a loaded fork towards the red-head.

Ginny gulped and shook her head vigorously, her hands coming up to her mouth. "No thanks Luna, it's okay. I may never eat cake again, but it's okay."

Luna looked shocked at the thought of never eating cake again, and took a few seconds to look at the dripping blob of cake that was on her fork before opening her mouth and sinking her fangs into the sticky mess.

"There! Take that!" she told the offending cake, causing Harry and Hermione to laugh as they were used to the blonde's antics. Everyone else looked even greener that they had before. It wasn't long before the conversation changed to other matters.

"Harry, what the hell was all that about when you two came in, you looked awesome!" Seamus asked in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, what the hell's going on with you two?" Dean questioned a bit louder.

"Shush! That was a bit of an accident; we just discovered something to do with our powers and got a bit carried away." Hermione told them.

"Whoa! That's amazing! Just how powe…."

"Don't ask - you know we won't tell you!" Harry interrupted him with a grin.

As they spoke the food arrived on the table and they started to fill their plates. Harry looked around and saw that Cassie was sat at the teachers table next to Professor McGonagall, deep in conversation. As he looked at the pair, Cassie looked over at him and smiled and Professor McGonagall nodded her head to him, a gesture that he returned.

Realising that neither Harry nor Hermione were going to discuss their powers the conversation turned to more mundane matters, that was until Dean offered his condolences to both Hermione and Luna for the loss of their fathers. After that the conversation was a lot more subdued. During the meal neither Lavender nor Parvati made an appearance, and Harry had to explain to their friends that Lavender had been given some bad news and that Parvati was keeping her company. Harry wouldn't be drawn anymore on what that news was, saying that both Lavender and he had their reasons for keeping that knowledge secret.

Soon however, the meal was over and Harry stood, taking his broom with him.

"Nev, Ginny, you two ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just need to run up to the tower and get my broom, and Nev is still been a wuss about using a broom." Ginny told him with a grin as she ran off to the tower. Harry turned to the blushing Neville who was glaring at the retreating form of his promised.

"Nev?" he asked. Neville turned back to Harry and sighed.

"Harry, you know my history with brooms, are you sure that you want me to help?" he asked.

"Neville, we are not going to be playing Quidditch, and if Hermione is prepared to get on a broom, then you should have no problem." He told him, earning a smack on the arm from his wife at the same time.

"Oi you!" she said, causing Neville to laugh.

"Okay Harry, just make sure you pick me a good broom that will be easy to control." He asked.

Harry nodded and then turned to the teachers table and looked at Cassie.

#Cassie, you there?" he thought.

#Yes Father, I'll meet you down at the lake shore, I'm just explaining something to Minerva.# came the reply. Nodding at her, Harry lead his little group to the main doors. As they arrived they heard Ginny running down the corridor, with her broom in her hands.

"Ready?" Harry asked everyone. Getting nods from everyone, they all walked to the lake via the Quidditch changing areas where Harry picked up the two brooms for Neville and Hermione. Arriving at the lake they found Cassie waiting for them.

"Okay, what I propose is that we fly slowly over the lake a little way apart from each other in a criss-cross pattern so we cover as much as we can in the shortest time possible." He told them.

"What are we looking for Harry?" Ginny asked.

"Anything odd; any disturbance in the lake or any shimmering associated with a concealment charm. I can feel that there is something out there now that I am here, I guess that must be my connection to Arthur and Excalibur, but I cannot pinpoint where the island is."

"And if we find nothing?" Neville asked.

"Well then we get creative….that's my way of saying I don't know what to do if that happens. Let's worry about that if it does happen." He said.

Getting no other questions, they all mounted their brooms, Hermione been getting very nervous about getting onto hers. Harry slowly flew over to her and took her hand. He said nothing that the others were aware of but seemed to just stare into her eyes for a little while. Nodding her head, Hermione mounted her broom and flew up to Harry. Cassie smiled, knowing that Harry had just past on his knowledge and skill at flying to his wife, before she gently began to float unaided and joined the others on their brooms.

"Ready?" Harry asked. Everyone nodded and they began to slowly fly across the lake, about twenty meters apart from each other. It took a good ten minutes to make one pass of the lake, and once they got to the other edge they had a quick conference to see if anyone had found anything. Unfortunately nothing was spotted and so they made another pass.

An hour later they had covered nearly half the lake but still had found nothing. Getting worried, on the next pass Harry decided to fly high so he could see more of the lake. Half way through the pass he was looking down and noticed something odd. He was watching Hermione fly slowly and low over the lake. Despite the knowledge he had given her, she still suffered from a fear of heights, and had chosen to fly low; only a few feet above the surface of the lake. Despite Ginny telling her that she was at risk of attracting the attention of the giant squid, she refused to fly any higher. The others, Cassie included were flying at around thirty feet above the surface so it was only Hermione that suffered the oddity that occurred next. As Harry watched his wife she suddenly seemed to shimmer and slow down. Her image wavered for a few meters before normalising and she speeded up to her previous speed. She seemed unaware that anything untoward had happened, and looked up to see that she was a little behind the others and speeded up a little to catch up.

Harry felt his heart rate increase in excitement, and called everyone to stop but to stay where they were.

#Mione, can you turn around and fly slowly back the way you just came please?# he asked her. Seeing her look at him with a questioning look, he smiled and nodded to her.

Slowly turning she flew back along the path she had just taken and Harry saw once more the strange shimmering and slowing of her flight until she came out of whatever she had flown into and speeded up.

#Mione, you can stop now. Did you feel anything odd just now?# he asked.

He saw Hermione think for a few seconds before she turned around and flew back to her first position when Harry had asked them to stop. As she flew he could see her really concentrating on her surroundings. Getting to the place the others were waiting she looked at Harry.

#Yes, Harry. I never noticed it the first two times, but that last time I felt slightly…..odd. I cannot put it into words but there was something there.# she thought back.

#Stay where you are for the moment will you.# he thought before calling the others to him and asked them to carefully watch Hermione as she flew back along the path for fourth time. They all watched the girl and everyone saw the shimmer and the odd slowing down of the flight.

"Harry, I see what you mean, there is something odd there." Neville said. Cassie watching the immortal witch flew down and followed the path she had taken and everyone saw the same thing happen to her. Flying back to the others, and been followed by Hermione she spoke to Harry.

"Yup, it's there. It's very odd, it's not a standard concealment charm or none that I've ever heard off; nor is it a standard Fidelius charm. That would make us completely ignore it. I've never felt anything like it before." She reported to the group.

Harry looked at the point in the lake and thought 'Finiti Incantatem' but nothing happened. Frowning he then tried the revealing spell he also came up with nothing.

"We are going to need specialist help, we need a curse breaker." Harry said.

"What about Bill?" Ginny asked.

"Perfect! Cassie can you find this spot again?" he asked.

"Yes, now I know it's here I can find it easily enough."

"Good, then I suggest we get back to castle for a hot drink, its bloody cold out here. We will go to the cottage and ask Bill for help and come back tomorrow, yes?"

Everyone nodded and they made the flight back to the castle, with much happier hearts than they had before.

I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.

Unknown to Harry and his friends, Hermione's passage through the spot on the lake had not gone un-noticed. Voldemort was suddenly aware that his most important Horcrux was under threat and that the island that he had created to hide the precious item was in danger of been discovered. He could tell that the difficult and rare charm he had used to conceal the island had not been broken, but that someone had passed through the area. He was suddenly very fearful and knew that the time had come - the time to act.

Calling both Bellatrix and Pettigrew to him he stood at the foot of his throne.

"Our cause is threatened. It is time to act, we are to make ready to go to Hogwarts and we are going to destroy the school. If he is not there this will bring Potter out of hiding to face me. That is where I will kill him and all he holds dear." He told them

Bellatrix looked at Pettigrew with a worried look. Both knew that their forces were much depleted; both because of the deaths of a large number of Deatheaters due to Potter and his friends as well as the devastating loss of the Vampires. Voldemort saw the looks and this enraged him.

He threw two torture curses at his lieutenants for a few seconds before yelling at them.

"We are not going to wait, get the giants ready and tell Greyback to get his brothers and sisters ready. We march in two days' time. This war ends then, and we will be victorious." He yelled at them before dismissing them. However despite his bravado, he knew that this was a risk. His forces were down, and he wasn't sure if they would be strong enough but nothing could be allowed to threaten his Horcrux; he just had to take the risk.

I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.

Deep in a forest was a small wooden shack, forgotten by nearly everyone. Within the blood covered walls of the shack sat a dark figure. He was tall, over eight feet in height and his arms and legs were covered in a dark looking skin, almost like the chitin of the insect world. The smell was appalling, and bits of decaying bodies were scattered on the floor. The only human looking aspect of the figure was the head, complete with dirty red hair. The creature once known as Ronald Weasley had changed; he had grown strong and soon would need a new body and it was only his face that was left of the young man he had once been. He sat looking at an object on the rude table in front of him and grinned to himself. Soon he would need to procreate and give birth to a new breed of beings; ones that would allow him to rule the world and beyond. His species method of procreation was hideous to all. He would inject venom into a host who would incubate the new creatures that would develop. Once ready they would cause the host to explode casting millions of the small creatures into the air. Once they came into contact with another human they would take control of the body, killing the host's soul as their first meal. They would be loyal to him and him alone and with them he would consume all that this world could give in order to grow his army. He needed more power to allow this to happen and with the object in front of him and all it would represent it would give him the power to do so.

"Soon! Very soon." He crowed. "Potter may be powerful but he will fall at the foot of my army and I will destroy the world. I will rip his slut apart and force him to watch as she dies and his world with her. It will be delicious, it will be magnificent!"