It's been a few days and everyone is settling into life on the run. Harry and Sirius are enjoying being around each other. Ron and Hermione seem closer than ever, and then there's little old me sitting in the corner on the tent with the book Dumbledore left Hermione in his will.
My dad would always read me The Tales of Beedle the Bard every night before bed when I was little. He would read a different story each night and I loved it, but I've notices something weird about this book. There's a little symbols of a triangle with a line going down the middle and then a circle inside the triangle. It's not part of the book though, someone has drawn it on the front page.
"Hermione" Harry says, rushing into the tent. "Hermione, you were right."
"What was I right about?" she frowns, pulling away from Ron.
"About Snitches having flesh memories. Only I didn't catch this Snitch with my hands, I almost swallowed it."
"Why did you try to eat the Snitch for?" I ask. Harry snorted and rolled his eyes.
"I didn't try to eat it. I was trying to catch it and it just ended up in my mouth."
"James would have been proud" Sirius laughed.
Harry smiled at him then shook his head. "Anyway, look at this" he says, showing us the Snitch. I look at it and see the words 'I open at the close'
"What does that mean?" Ron frowns.
"I'm not sure" Harry sighs.
"I think I've found something too" I say, making them look at me and I show them the book and point to the triangle symbols. "It's not part of the book. Someone has inked it in."
Hermione grabs the book off me. "How did I not notice that before?" she asks herself more than us. "I swear I've seen this symbol before."
"Same …" Harry trials off, as if he's thinking about something. He clicks his fingers together and looks at us. "Xenophilius Lovegood was wearing that symbol around his neck at Bill and Fleur's wedding."
"But why would someone draw it into a children's book?" I ask. "And what does it mean?"
"I'm not sure" Hermione mumbles, frowning at the book.
"Guys" Harry says. We all look at him and he looks nervous. "I've been thinking, and I want to go to Godric's Hollow."
"What?" all we asks.
"I just feel like we have to go there."
"But that's exactly where he will expect you to go, Harry, because it means something to you" Ron says.
"But it means something to him too. You-Know-Who almost died there."
"I've got to admit, I've been thinking the same thing" Hermione says. Harry looks shocked and happy at the same time. "I think something might be hidden there."
"What could be hidden there?" Sirius ask, confused.
"The sword. If Dumbledore wanted to hide it but didn't want it falling into the Ministry's hands, then where better to hide it in the birthplace of Godric Gryffindor."
Harry looks at us one by one. "So, is that a yes? We are going to Godrics Hollow?"
"Yes, but that's have something to eat first" Sirius says, going into his rucksack and pulling out a few tins of beans and a load of bread. Me and Hermione cooked dinner whilst the boys made a start on packing up our things. By the time we had finished cooking, the only think that needed packing up was the tent.
Once we had finished, we packed up the tent and Harry apparated us to Godric's Hollow. We land on the floor and almost slip over on some ice. I look around and see snow everywhere. There's some little snowman in a garden of one of the houses.
"I think it's Christmas eve" Hermione whispers, looking around. "I can hear Christmas music."
We stand there and listen to the music coming from the church. We can also hear people cheering and laughing.
"I didn't even realise that it was December" I says.
"Same" Ron, Hermione and Sirius mumble. I look at Harry and see him looking at the graveyard by the church.
"They're in there, you know, your mom and dad" I say, making Harry look at me. "They're by my mom's grave."
"Come on" Sirius says, pushing open the gate, "I think we've got a little time to make a quickly stop."
We follow Sirius into the graveyard and he walks us over to my mom's grave and Harry's mom and dad grave. I look at my mom's grave and see that her photo is covered with snow. I walk over to it and wipe it off and I see her beautiful smiling face looking at me.
I stand there staring at her photo. I feel like breaking down and telling her everything that has happened with dad but I can't since the others are with me and I don't fancy crying in front of them. I jump when someone holds my hand. I look and see Harry smiling at me. I smile back and we stand there looking at our parents graves.
Hermione pulls out her wand and makes a wreaths of roses appear in the middle of their headstones.
"Merry Christmas, everyone" Harry says.
"Merry Christmas, Harry" we all say back. Ron and Hermione stand there holding hands and me and Harry rest our heads on Sirius's shoulder's.
"Guys" Ron whisper after a few minute, "there's someone watching us" me and Harry lift our heads up and look at him. "Over by the church."
We all slowly turn towards the church and see an old lady stood there just looking at us.
"I know who that is" Harry says, stupidly walking over to her. "Her name is Bathilda Bagshot."
"Harry, get back here" I snap.
"No!" he snaps back. "She knew Dumbledore. She might have the sword."
"Something doesn't feel right about this, Harry" Sirius says.
Harry doesn't say anything and carries on walking. Sirius sighs and beckons me, Ron and Hermione to follow him, which we did.
"I don't like this, Harry" I whispers. "I don't like this at all."
"She might have the sword, Ava."
"We can't trust her Harry" Sirius hissed, clearly getting annoyed. "I know her, and she would have talked by now, but she hasn't even acknowledged that I'm here."
"Why does that matter?"
"It matters because she would always say hello to me but she hasn't even looked at me."
When we reach her, she turns around and slowly starts to walk off towards her house. We glance at each other, pull out our wands and follow her. We reach her house and the front door is already open which is a big red flag for me. Harry goes to walk into the house, but I grab his arm.
"I don't think we should follow her."
"She's an old lady, Ava. What can she do?"
"Never underestimate someone, Harry. We have no idea what she's cable of."
Harry looks at us. "Come on, it's five against one" he says, before walking into the house. We walk into the house and I don't want to be rude or anything, but it smells. It smells like dust, like the house hasn't been cleaned in months, and I'm pretty sure I can smell blood, which is another red flag.
"Can you smell blood, or is it just me?" I whisper to the others.
"I can smell it too" Ron and Hermione whisper back whilst Harry and Sirius nod.
Bathilda beckons us to follow her upstairs, but when Ron, Hermione and Sirius go to follow, she holds up her hand to stop them. She points to me and Harry and walks off upstairs. Harry doesn't even hesitate and follows her.
I look at Ron, Hermione and Sirius. "We will be down here if you need us" Ron says.
"Yeah, just shout us and we will come running" Sirius says. I nod and walk off upstairs. I look around and see Harry and Bathilda standing on the landing.
"Come" she hissed, walking into the bedroom behind her. We follow her and she points to the locket around Harry's neck. "Open up" she hissed again. I have no idea why it sounds like she's hissing for. Harry looks at the locket confused.
I look around and see Blathilda shaking through the mirror. I turn around and ask if she's ok but she didn't answer me and turned into a snake instead. It dives at me and Harry but we move out of the way just in time.
"We need help!" I shout to Ron, Hermione and Sirius. I hear them rushing up the stair as the snake dives on Harry. He hits the wall behind him, knocking it down to reveal another room that looks like a child's bedroom. The snake starts to wrap itself around Harry but he uses one of the bricks and hits the snake over his head, which made it let him go.
"Stupefy!" Hermione shouts, rushing into the room. Her spell hits the snake and make it fall through a gap in the floor.
"Come on, quickly" Sirius says, holding out his hand. We all rush over to him at different times. Ron was the last one to reach Sirius, he was about to hold his hand when the snake jumps through the floor. Ron quickly cast a spell and it sent the snake flying into the wall.
Sirius Apparated us back to the Forest of Dean, making us land hard on the floor. Me and Hermione put up the tent, whilst Ron and Sirius did the Protection Charms. Harry couldn't stop saying sorry. He blames himself for what happened tonight. He feels guilty because he could have got us all killed. We tried telling him that it wasn't his fault but he wasn't listening to us.
Once everything was sat up, we make our way into the tent and Sirius pulls out some junk food from his rucksack. We happily accepted them and sat around the firepit and talked about everything but the snake and what happened tonight.
It's late at night and me and Harry are on watch, even though we have put up Protection Charms, we still don't feel safe, so every few hours we take it in turns to sit outside the tent and just look around for anything suspicious. So far, there's been nothing and we are hoping that it stays that way.
I look up at the sky and see that it's a clear night with loads of stars. "Do you believe in god?" I ask.
"Not really, you?"
"No, but I like to think that there's something up there. I like to think that we go somewhere when we die."
"What do you think is up there?" Harry asks, looking up at the sky.
"I dunno, but I like to think that people we have lost are waiting for us. I can image my mom waiting there with open arms" I sigh sadly. "I wish it was as peaceful down here as it is up here."
"Me too" Harry mumbles.
"I also wish that wishes were real. I could use 3 wishes right now."
"What would you wish for?"
"One, I wish my mom was still alive. Two, I wish he wasn't in the word. And three, I wish that my dad was here with me instead of over there with him!"
Harry wipes away my tears then runs his finger down my scar on my right cheek. "That should never had happened" he whispered.
I look at him and give him a little smile. "What about you?" I ask. "What would you wish for?"
"One, I wish my mom and dad were still alive. Two, I wish he was gone. And three, I wish I had a chocolate frog."
I laugh a little. "I can promise two of those will come true, Harry. I know it doesn't feel like it at the minute, but we are going to beat him!"
"I know we are. It's just taking longer than I thought, after all."
"I get that, but we always knew that he wouldn't have made them easy to find."
"I know" he sighs. "It's just so frustrating. Just when I think we're getting somewhere, something happens and we are back at square. I have no idea what to do next, Ava."
"None of us do, Harry, but we will figure it out in the end, we always do."
Harry was about to say something but I cut him off when I see a sliver fox Patronus through the trees.
"Harry, that's dad's Patronus" I gasp, pointing to it.
"What?" he asks, looking at it. "How do you know that's your dad's?"
"Because he's got the same Patronus as my mom, and I don't see how it can be hers, but what's it doing there?"
"I don't know, but it looks like it wants us to following it" Harry says, slowly standing up. I stand up and look around but I can't see anyone any where. "Do you think we should follow it?"
"I'm not sure, Harry. What if it's a trap or something?"
"Why would if be a trap? I mean, it is your father's Patronus after all, and he wouldn't hurt you, would he?"
"No, of course not!"
"Let's go then" Harry says, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the fox Patronus. I don't understand why dad's Patronus is here for. Did he send it? And if so then why? I look and see that it's leading us to the frozen lake. It kept on looking back to make sure that it was following it.
Dad's Patronus walks into the middle of the lake, looks at us, then disappear through the ice. Me and Harry look at each other. I look at the lake and see that the ice is thick enough to walk on. Harry takes a step towards and slowly steps onto the ice.
He looks at me before walking over to where the dad's Patronus disappeared. He wipes away the snow that was on the lake and whispers something that I didn't hear, then just starts taking his clothes off which makes me quickly close my eyes.
"What are you doing?" I gasp.
"The sword of Gryffindor is under the water and I'm going in to get it."
"Are you crazy? It's a frezzing cold water. Your body could go into shock if you're not careful."
"I know, Ava, but we need that sword. Here, hold my clothes, I'll need them for when I come out."
I open my eyes and see Harry stood there in his boxers. This is something a cousin really shouldn't see. He hands me his clothes and walks back onto the ice. He points his wand at the ice and says a spell that melts it into a hole big enough for him to go through.
He throws me his wand and sits down, putting his legs into the water. He gasps loudly before jumping into the frezzing cold water. He's got balls, I'll give him that. I watch him swim down to the sword only when he tries to grab it, the locket around his neck starts to pull him away from the sword and deeper into the water.
I wait a bit just in case he manages to fight against it but that doesn't seem to be the case. I drop Harry's clothes on the floor and quickly strip down to my underwear and a vest top. I rush over to the hold and just jump in, which was a bad idea because sharp shooting pain went through my body from how freezing the water is.
I swim over to Harry and grab his shoulder but the locket is too strong and I can't pull him back, so I try to take the locket off him instead but it seems to be stuck to his skin. Just then I feel someone jump into the water but before I could turn around to see who it was, they grab my wrist and roughly drag me out of the water before jumping back in for Harry.
I try to stand up but fell back on the floor because I'm shivering so much. I look and see someone dragging Harry out of the water and over to me.
"What the fuck are you two playing at?" someone says angrily. I blink a few times and see Sirius stood there. "You could have died, you bloody idiots. Get your clothes back on."
We grab our clothes and try to put them back on. I'm so glad I was wearing legging because jeans would have been a nightmare to put back on. Although, I did get stuck in my jumper, which made Harry laugh, but he stops when Sirius growls angrily. I don't think he's too happy with us at the minute.
We put our clothes back and make our way back to the tent whilst Harry told Sirius about the fox Patronus but left out that it was dad's Patronus, knowing that Sirius would have a lot to say about that, then we told him about the sword and why we were in the lake in the first place.
Sirius suddenly stops us from walking and me and Harry looks at him confused.
"We have the sword, let's get rid of this thing" he says, holding up the locket. We nod and Sirius lies it down on a tree trunk and Harry hands me the sword.
"W-what? No, no I can't."
"Yes, you can. I know you can" he says, putting the sword in my hand. I take it and grip it tight. "I will have to talk to it in order for it to open, but once I do, don't hesitate, do you understand?"
"Yes" I breath out, a little worried on what's going to happen once it's open.
Harry walks over to the locket. "Open up" he hissed and it burst open, knocking Harry and Sirius off their feet. "KILL IT!" Harry yells over the black smoke that's seems to be coming from the locket itself.
I was about to stab the locket but stop when I see a figure of dad walking through the smoke.
"How did I end up with a daughter like you? You're weak and pathetic!" dad says, looking at me in the eye. Not gonna lie, that hurt, that hurt a like.
"Kill it, Ava!" Sirius shouts. "Don't let it get into your head!"
"You should have died that night! It should have been you instead of your mother! I never wanted to be stuck with you! I hate you, Sophie!"
I stand there, staring at dad with tears running down my cheeks, but I quickly snap back into reality when I realise that dad called me Sophie. He would never call me Sophie. I force my legs to move and run over to the locket, bringing the sword down and hitting the locket right in the middle.
I get thrown backwards when the black smoke explodes into the face of Voldemort. It screams, floats towards me, then disappears. I lie on the floor, breathing heavily.
"You did it, Ava" Sirius grins.
"Yeah" I say breathlessly. I sit up and see Harry lying on the floor, he's also breathing heavily. "You ok, Harry?" he doesn't answer me but puts his thumb up instead. I laugh and lie back down on the floor.
"Come one" Sirius says, helping us off the floor. "Let's tell Ron and Hermione the good news."
We make it back to the tent only to find Ron and Hermione stood there looking angry and worried at the same time.
"Where the hell have you three been?" Hermione growls. "We were worried sick when we woke up and you wasn't there."
"What's that?" Ron asks, glancing at the broken locket in Harry's hand, then the sword in my hand. "You managed to destroy the locket? And where did you get the sword from?"
"Ava destroyed the locket" Sirius grins. "And come inside the tent and we will tell you the rest."
We walk into the tent and sit down at the kitchen table and me and Harry take it in turns to explain what happened, but again, we left out that it was dad's Patronus. I just feel like they would have questioned it a lot and we don't need to do anything that could start an agreement.
After we finished our story, Hermione went on a little rant telling us how stupid we were and that we could have died if Sirius didn't jump in the water to save us. I honestly felt like a little kid again getting shouted at by Narcissa.
It's been a few hours and we all feel a lot happier knowing that the Horcrux has been destroyed. Harry, Ron and Sirius are sat in the corner talking about boy stuff whilst me and Hermione are sat at the kitchen table talking about the triangle symbol.
We think that it means something because it keeps popping up. Mr Lovegood's necklace. In Hermione's book and she told me that she saw it on one of the headstone when we were in the graveyard Godric's Hollow.
"I think I know where we need to go next" Hermione says. "Come on, let's talk to the boys."
I nod and Hermione calls them over. They sit down and look at us confused.
"I think we should go and see Xenophilius Lovegood" Hermione says.
"Luna's father?" Ron frowns. "Why?"
"We think that this triangle symbol means something" I say, showing it to them again. "We're not sure what it means, but we know it means something important."
"You really think this symbol means something?" Sirius asks.
"Yes" me and Hermione answer.
"Ok then" Harry nods. "We will go and see Mr Lovegood" he look at his watch then looks at us. "We'll go in the morning since it's half 10 at night."
We nod and stay up for another hour before calling it a night.
