Behind the Mask Chapter 10

Dumbledore was dead.

Somehow, Harry couldn't wrap his head around that. He'd suspected for some time that the headmaster was fading fast, as the curse withering his arm gained ground.

But to find his broken body at the base of the Astronomy Tower was something that would haunt Harry's dreams.

Daphne took his hand, somehow intuitively discerning his thoughts.

Hermione gave them a knowing look, and sat up briskly. "Right! So, when and where do we commence extra training?"

"No time to waste," Neville said grimly. "We need to be ready for whatever happens. We can tell it won't be good."

"There's a room in the basement at Grimmauld Place, next to the wine cellar," Harry said, feeling a pang as he recalled the moments he'd spent there, duelling with Sirius.

"Perfect," approved Hermione.

Daphne held up one hand. "Before we key people into the wards, I think we ought to get a wizard's vow from everyone."

"These are our friends," Harry began.

"Peter Pettigrew was once considered a friend," pointed out Hermione. She raised her wand and made the oath, instantly followed by Neville, Hannah, Ron, Susan, Luna, Ginny, and Ernie.

"Thanks, everybody," Harry said gratefully. "Now, first thing…"

"Wait," Daphne interrupted. "Don't forget me."

"You?" Harry was surprised. "You don't need…"

"We'll do this properly!" Daphne made the vow, and Ron gave her the first look of approval he'd ever bestowed on a (former) Slytherin.

"Other people will want to join," Susan commented. "I know Justin will, and Morag McDougal, and Michael Corner."

"All right," Harry nodded. "But not at the house. I think we'll check at Gringotts and find out if there's another property that might work, at least temporarily."

Harry had another reason for visiting the bank.

He hadn't forgotten his intention to present Daphne with a ring, and hoped there would be something suitable in the vaults.

What he discovered was an embarrassment of riches: there were no fewer than seven rings in the vaults, any one of which would do for an engagement.

In the end he selected an oval diamond flanked by two amethysts; something about it reminded him of Daphne, and he only hoped she would like it.

Daphne adored the ring.

"But," Harry cautioned, "we can't get married until Voldemort is dealt with."

Her smile dimmed. "Right. So we'd better get on with it, because patience is not one of my virtues! First, horcruxes, we've found all but one…"

"Aren't you forgetting this?" Harry tapped his scar. He hated the thought that he somehow had a bit of Voldemort's soul in him.

"No! That will not defeat us!" Suddenly Daphne turned fierce. "Hermione and I have been working on a plan to get rid of that thing, and we think we found something."

Her voice faltered. "It will be painful, and I can't bear…" she burst into tears.

Harry panicked. Tears were a rarity for Daphne, and he wasn't sure how to deal with them. He put his arms around her, and that seemed to help.

"So, when?" he asked calmly.

She raised her head. "The day after your birthday. You'll receive your magical heritage upon coming of age, and that should help."

"We were wondering," began Hermione, "why basilisk venom didn't destroy the horcrux in your scar. It worked on that diary."

"Because Fawkes cried into the wound," Harry explained. "I told you about that. If he hadn't, I would have died."

"Or," Hermione suggested, "you'd have been rid of the horcrux!"

"That makes sense," said Neville slowly.

Kreacher placed a dish of fresh-made crumpets on the kitchen table, and Ron grinned appreciatively as he slathered his with marmalade. "These are so good! So, why not ask Bill? He's a curse-breaker, you know."

Harry groaned. "Why didn't I think of that!"

He looked to Ron, blissfully starting on his second crumpet. "You know, mate, it's amazing how often you come up with great ideas."

"Oh, I don't know," Ron bit into the crumpet. "I'm not as clever as Hermione, but I can see the obvious."

Hermione smiled at him fondly. "That's why I love you!"

Ron's head jerked up as he stared at her, the crumpet forgotten. "You mean it?"

Hermione blushed, and nodded.

Neville intervened. "Ron, this is no time for romance!"

"Says the man who was the first to get engaged," retorted Hermione.

Daphne stood, and strode to the fireplace. "We need to call Bill…right this minute!"

"No," Hermione objected reluctantly. "Think about it! Right now it's a kind of Get Out of Jail Free Card. If you get hit, you might not die. You ought to wait, at least until we find the other horcruxes."

At dinner that evening, they considered their options.

"If Dumbledore was right about the snake, we have one more horcrux to find," concluded Hermione.

Ron mentioned, "Bill expects to get a nice bonus from the goblins for pointing them to the one in Bellatrix' vault…her former vault, I should say! You know Harry, now you're Head of the House of Black, you should investigate the artifacts in that vault. I bet quite a few are dark."

"First things first," said Daphne firmly. "The other Horcrux must be something belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw."

"The diadem," offered Luna. "No one knows what happened to it."

"We'll search, the minute we get back to school," vowed Hermione.

But in the waning days of summer, the Ministry fell, and the Death-Eaters took over the school.

"What shall we do?" Hermione wrung her hands. "We can't go back!"

"I can," Neville declared. "I can go search for the horcrux. I'm pureblood, it's safe for me."

"You know it isn't," Daphne retorted. "Heroics won't help, they will just get you killed. I have a better idea. We use the elves!"

"I'm going back to school, so I can help," offered Luna. "I'm a pureblood and they'll probably just ignore me. I can search while their attention is directed elsewhere. I'll start as soon as I get to the school."

But when the time came, they discovered that Luna had never arrived at Hogwarts.

Neville was determined to go find out what had happened.

"We know what happened," Ron growled. "Death Eaters took her off the train! If you return, they'll target you as well."

"I'm still going." Neville set his jaw.

What changed his mind was not the arguments of his friends, but the sudden appearance of Hannah, weeping and bereft. Her mother was dead, a victim of Voldemort's resurgence.

Only the fact that she was away from home, ironically comforting her best friend Susan Bones, had saved Hannah.

"Susan lost her Aunt Amelia," sobbed Hannah. "Now she has no one left…like me!"

Neville put both arms around her. "You have me. Always."

Hannah buried her head in his shoulder, but seemed a little comforted.

In contrast, when Susan Bones turned up a few days later, her hazel eyes were blazing. She was every bit as devastated as her best friend, but Susan was out for blood.

"They're going to pay," she vowed. "No stunners, no binding hexes. Any Death Eater I encounter is going to die!"

"You don't mean that, Susan," Hermione faltered. "We need to be better than they are."

"No." Susan was implacable. "That's the attitude that got so many of our side killed! As for being better…I plan to be better at fighting! I know Aunty felt the same; in fact…" Susan waved a parchment…" I have here her order allowing the use of lethal force against Death Eaters! It was the last thing she did before they caught her. I plan to make good use of it!"

Hannah looked conflicted, but Harry nodded. "Susan's right. I'm not saying we have to kill, but incapacitate? Definitely!"

"Right." Neville gave his vote of approval.

Daphne shivered, but said, "I agree."

Hannah lifted her head and met Susan's eyes. A flash of understanding passed between them, and Hannah's expression hardened to match that of her closest friend. "I'm in."

They all looked to Hermione.

Slowly, she nodded.

"Right then," ordered Harry. "Let's go get Luna."