A/N: Here's another chapter. Enjoy:))
Chapter 134: How?
"Ok, write this down: Strongest poisons and toxins of the Wizarding World. How many do we have?"
Draco looked over at the parchment in front of him and counted the elements of the list again.
"Seventeen books. Don't you think we should start going through them though?"
"Nope. We'll finish going through this inventory and then check the books. Take things one at a time."
We had, just as decided, rested a few days, and we were currently in the library, third day in a row, going through a seemingly endless list of all the books in the there, writing down every one of them that seemed like it could be of use for us, based on the title. Most of the ones that we had chosen by now were in the restricted section, but that was not a problem in this case.
"This is going to take forever." I groaned, jumping down from the mostly empty shelf that I was sitting on, taking advantage of Madame Pince being gone on holiday.
"But we have to do it, you know there isn't another way."
"Well, technically, there is a way, quick and without side effects."
"No, we're not killing you Selene. I wouldn't have wanted that even for Harry back in first year when I hated him with burning passion."
"Ufff, okay then. At least there aren't many books left. I'm actually surprised that there are only about thirty books about poisons, toxins, venom and such here."
"Well, this is a school full of kids after all. I don't imagine anyone would want us to poison ourselves."
"Yeah, and still, Voldemort managed to make so many Horcruxes using information found in this very library."
"He did, but what were the odds? Almost nobody knows about this form of dark magic."
"Indeed." I sighted, looking at the twenty something titles left on the long parchment in my hand. "Let's just go through these and we'll start searching for them tomorrow. I wanna go outside and breath fresh air instead of dust."
And we did exactly that. I took him to the Forest and for the first time showed him the Thestrals. Back in fourth year when Hagrid had taken us there, he didn't pay much attention, therefore was surprised to see the skeletal big black horses coming towards him, their beady, shiny black eyes void of any emotions.
"They're very gentle you know. Unlike Buckbeak, none of them is going to bite or scratch you. Unless you attack them of course."
"Yeah, I think I changed since second year. I'm not that much of a dumbass anymore."
We lost track of time playing with the foals and wandering through the Forest, and when we finally got back to the castle, it was already dark outside and the newly put up wards glowed over the castle's grounds. You couldn't see them before, they used to just be hidden in plain sight, but there was so much magic shoved in that dome now that you had to be either a Muggles or just actually blind to not notice the purple lights over your head during the night.
We had dinner in the kitchens and then retreated in the Slytherin quarters; even up in the mountains where Hogwarts was situated, the temperature rose during the summer, just enough so the temperature down in the dungeons was just right.
Being exhausted after spending so much time in the library we fell asleep soon after we sat on the bed, my head on Draco's chest and his hands wrapped around me.
Just two weeks and a couple of nervous breakdowns later we managed to narrow the methods down to a short list, most of which required Phoenix tears right away in order for us to keep living:
-stab with Basilisk fang
-cut with Gryffindor's sword(it's seeped in venom)
-fiend fire(if and only if we manage to get the Horcrux out, we set it on fire)
-the clear poison used by ancient families to protect valuable heirlooms
"Well, at least it's shorter now."
"But we still don't know if it's safe."
"We'll talk to Sev, Dray. And to Minnie and all the other teachers who may know anything about these things. We'll sort it out, you'll see. Now, we have to pack. We're leaving tomorrow."
"What? Tomorrow? How come I didn't know that?"
"You did, but you're so out of it these days that you probably forgot."
The next day, Narcissa came through the Floo to take us to Grimmauld Place, where the Weasleys were, as well as Fleur; she was going to leave to France in order to bring her parents and sister. At first, the wedding was supposed to be held at the Burrow, but it was decided that it wasn't safe. So it was going to take place in the surprisingly enlarged backyard of the Black House, where no one could possibly find us unless taken there by someone who knew about it.
While Bill's fiance was in France, it was time to bring Harry to the Order's headquarters as well. The adults insisted on no children joining the team, and Fred and George were of course grinning from ear to ear, not taking no for an answer, now that they were: "Thank, Merlin, finally of age and not under your roof anymore mom."
The convoy was attacked on the way back though; Fred lost an ear and Mad Eye barely dodged a Killing Curse and was now sporting a nasty cut on his left upper arm. Thankfully, no one was killed, aside from some death eaters.
As soon as all of us were gathered, Draco and I decided that since we had already made the list, it was time to tell my brother and friends about the other two Horcruxes. We gathered in the living room and I started.
"All right. There is something that I have to tell you about regarding the Horcruxes. You all know about the journal, about Voldemort's snake, about the few relics and all that. But there are two that you don't know about and you should."
"Well, tell us."
"I will, but promise me that you're not going to get mad that I kept this from you; because you have to understand that I could barely process it myself."
"Okay, go on."
"There are parts of Voldemort's soul in both of us, Harry. We are Horcruxes."