Chapter 10: House of the Dead
The three followed the old woman to wherever she was leading them. Of course they had to avoid the Snatchers, who were patrolling the small town. Anyways, as they followed the old woman, Harry came across a house that has seen better days, as the garden was overgrown with weeds, vegetation and snow covering the abandoned house. "Is that…" Naruto was about to ask, when Harry nodded. "Yes, this is where they died. This is where he murdered them in cold blood," Harry said bitterly. Naruto placed a hand on his friend's back offering his condolences, as Harry looked at him and nodded. As Harry placed his fingers around the locket, he felt that someone was watching them. Without turning he asked, "You're Bathilda, aren't you?" Both Naruto and Hermione turn around to see that the old woman they were following was watching them a couple yards away.
They follow the old woman to her home and before Naruto enters, he notices a crow watching him. He nods at the crow and soon enters the house belonging to Bathilda Bagshot. As the blond entered the house, he was taken aback by the smell. "Oh god, what is that awful smell?! It smells like someone died here!" Naruto complained, as Hermione agreed, covering her nose. Oh the two don't know how right they were with that complaint. "Harry, are you sure about this?" Hermione asked. "Relax guys, she knew Dumbledore. She might have the sword. Besides, she's barely knee-high to a house-elf. I think we can overpower her if it turns ugly," Harry stated nonchalantly. "Guys, I'm sensing something wrong here. It almost feels like a trap, heck what even is that smell?!" Naruto whispered frantically, looking around to see if the creepy old lady didn't hear anything. "She's gaga, remember?" Harry responded.
Bathilda returns with a box of matches, as she tries to light one up. She was clumsy of course, so Harry helped her out. "You have a lovely house, Miss Bagshot," Hermione complimented, even though it felt forced. Naruto decides to take a look around the house and comes across a photo of a young girl. "Hey Hermione, come check this out," Naruto said, as the brunette comes over. The two looked at the picture, not knowing that Bathilda was watching them like a snake. For Harry, he comes across a picture of a young man with a rather intense gaze. "Miss Bagshot? Who is this man?" Harry asked, as the old woman was silent. Naruto goes over to check the photo, before turning to Harry. "That's Gellert Grindelwald when he was young, I even saw a picture of him once in Dumbledore's office," Naruto whispered. Harry was shocked, as Hermione came towards the two. "What are you guys talking about?" she whispered. "This is him, Hermione. The one I saw in Gregorovitch's wand shop. The thief is none other than Gellert Grindelwald," he whispered back.
Soon Bathilda looks at Harry and motions for him to follow her upstairs. But as the three were about to follow her, Bathilda shakes her head and points at Harry. "I think she wants me to follow her alone," Harry stated. This shocked the two, but Harry assures them that he'll be fine on his own. "Stay frosty, we don't know this woman so be ready for anything," Naruto advised, as Harry nodded. Harry follows Bathilda, while both Naruto and Hermione stay downstairs. "Let's explore this area, cause I have a feeling good ol Bathilda is hiding something," Naruto stated, as Hermione nodded. The two took out their wands just in case, as they explored the house. "This is starting to feel like a horror movie," Hermione whispered, as Naruto agreed. Both come across a horrifying discovery in the kitchen, as there was a blood stain with hundreds of flies surrounding the area. Naruto puts on a pair of gloves, before going up to the sink and touching the blood. "The blood feels dry, it looks as if this had happened a while ago," Naruto stated, frowning at the scene. But soon they heard a commotion upstairs, as it seems like a confrontation is taking place. "Shit Harry is upstairs, c'mon!" Naruto yelled, as he and Hermione rush upstairs with their wands at the ready.
With Harry
Harry stares in horror as the body of Bathilda Bagshot is beginning to crumble and collapse. Out of the body came Nagini, as the snake hissed and rushed at Harry. Harry tried firing his wand, but the snake knocked it away as it lunged at the boy and sent him crashing to the wall. The snake tried attacking Harry, but Harry threw some stuff at it while still trying to escape. Of course the snake was pissed off, as the snake tripped Harry and was coiling on him to strangle the boy. Harry grabbed a brick and hit the snake on the head multiple times before the snake let him go. Harry makes a desperate escape, as the snake follows him. Before the snake could go for the kill, Naruto and Hermione came by as both fired a spell at the snake. Naruto helps Harry up, as the snake falls downstairs. The three breathe a sigh of relief, but before they can escape the snake lunges at Naruto.
Naruto tries to keep the snake's mouth away from him, as Nagini attempts to bite him. It was a struggle between man and beast, as Harry and Hermione tried their best to get the snake off him. "Ok snakey, you are really pissing me off!" Naruto shouted, as he grabbed a paper bomb kunai and shoved it at Nagini's mouth. He kicks away the snake, as the paper bomb exploded on Nagini's mouth. However it just made the snake angrier, as it hissed violently. "Goddamn it! How can we kill this fucking snake?!" Naruto shouted in frustration. Luckily help arrives, as a crow comes crashing from the window before revealing himself as Itachi. "Amaterasu!" he shouted, summoning black fire on the snake as he used the Mangekyo Sharingan. The snake was writhing in pain, moving violently as it tried to get rid of the black flames. "Naruto, it's now or never!" Itachi yelled, trying to increase the flame. Naruto nodded as he took out his gunblade and went into Kurama mode as he amplified the nine tails chakra into the blade. As the flames died down, the last thing Nagini saw was Naruto slicing the snake.
The snake soon vanishes, as the dark clouds appear showing Voldemort's face until it dissipates. But what was shocking was that a spirit of a beautiful woman came from the destroyed snake, as it turned towards Naruto. "Are you…the snake itself?" Naruto asked, as the spirit nodded. "Thank you for freeing me from my curse, I wish you and the boy who lived good luck on your quest to stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," the spirit said. "Wait…did You-Know-Who turn you into that form?" Harry asked. The spirit shook her head, "I was a Maledictus from birth and eventually when I reached a certain point in life, I have permanently transformed into the animal you slaughtered. Yes I knew You-Know-Who when he had returned. He had me commit terrible atrocities, to the point where he had transformed me into his Horcrux. I couldn't do anything, as I had lost my true personality and became his slave. Please Naruto and Harry, you must stop You-Know-Who and his second in command. Rewrite my mistakes…in my stead…end his reign, please!" the spirit said. "Don't worry, you have mine and Harry's word. We'll stop him, no matter what it takes, believe it," Naruto said, looking serious. The spirit smiled and nodded, "Thank you, you two," she said before vanishing in peace.
"Come on, let's get back to camp," Naruto said, as they all nodded. They soon got away, before any reinforcements arrived. The four arrived at the campground, making sure they weren't followed. "Where's Ron?" Itachi asked, as the others looked silent as it was a personal issue. "It's a long story, but anyways what happened after you and the others went into hiding?" Harry asked. Itachi explains how after he defended the Uzumaki residence, he had met up with some of the members of the Order, as they are currently fighting Voldemort and his allies underground. Naruto, Harry, and Hermione sighed in relief, as they were glad that Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Cedric, along with the others were alright. "How are Tsunade, Mito, and Shizune?" Naruto asked. "They are ok, as they haven't been tracked down by any of the Death Eaters or even the Snatchers. But I did get messages from them and they really do miss you and hope that you are ok," Itachi stated. "That's good at least. Anyways, given that we had just destroyed another one of You-Know-Who's Horcrux, which was Nagini, we still have more to go starting with the locket," Naruto stated. "Right, since Itachi managed to weaken Nagini using that flame technique of his and you using Kurama's chakra to slice down the snake, I think we got a bit of an edge," Harry mentioned. Hermione nodded before turning to Naruto, "Naruto can you bring out your gunblade for a second?" she requested. Naruto brings it out, as the brunette takes the blade and studies it.
"As I thought, since your gunblade has been upgraded with enchantments and chakra, it should do nicely. But the question remains as to how did it manage to cut the snake?" she asked. "Well, normally whenever I polish my blades, I place a coat of a certain type of poison in order to kill at a faster rate. But that's only if I ever have to face tough opponents," Naruto explained. "I'm starting to think that the reason why we can't destroy the locket is because we have been hitting it from the outside, instead of the inside. But I don't think the gunblade or jutsu you guys used won't be enough. We need to find the Sword of Gryffindor and fast if we're going to destroy it properly," Harry stated. "Right, we'll start the search tomorrow. In the meantime, you three get some rest, I'll keep watch," Itachi said, as the three nodded, getting some well deserved rest.
Note: So I decided to have both Naruto and Itachi be the ones to destroy Nagini, instead of Neville. Don't worry Neville will get his chance to shine in the later chapters as I plan for him to be the one to kill Bellatrix. Anyways hope you guys like this chapter and feel free to review