HARRY POTTER AND THE FINAL WAR
Summary: Harry Potter has returned from Hogwarts and has wasted no time in his search for Voldemort's Horcruxes. Against the wishes of his friends, he goes off alone. Will Harry win the fight against Voldemort?
Rated: M for violence, language, and sex
Disclaimer: Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
I don't own Harry Potter,
And neither do you.
Chapter 7: Horcrux Unleashed
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Harry glanced up at Ernie, panting. He continued to help everyone up before answering to Ernie. The truth was, he was buying himself some time. How do I explain this to him? How do I explain that the Horcrux blew up his bus!
"Well?" Ernie said impatiently.
"Ernie I… I don't know. I just came up here because the cup was acting funny and it blew up," Harry lied. He couldn't figure out any other way to tell Ernie his favorite cup was now a puddle of gold, and that his bus had almost become fancy, unusual rocks in Muggle museums.
When seeing Harry's lie, Hermione gave an unusual sort of gasp, though it was inaudible to Ernie. Ron tried not to interject, and Ginny took her mind away from it by brushing off her skirt. Ernie was looking at Harry fixedly. Harry couldn't tell whether he was glaring at him or not. His thick glasses made it hard to read his facial expressions. After a long, awkward silence that was interrupted only by a few coughs, Ernie finally said something.
"Get off…" Ernie said, trailing off. Harry barely heard him.
"What?" he asked.
"Get off… of my bus," Ernie repeated with explanation. He was still speaking very low.
"Ernie, I'm sorry about your bus, I really am!" Harry said exasperatedly. "But… It's fixed now, isn't it?"
"Well of course it's fixed, boy. There are so many spells on this bus, I'd be surprised to find a safer place!" Ernie was now getting annoyed. "Besides Hogwarts and a few places like that, of course," he added.
"So, the bus put itself back together, did it?" Hermione said, intrigued.
"Yes, but it didn't put it back together for you to blow it up again, now get OFF!" he shouted. His was glaring fiercely at Harry. Harry looked around at his friends, out of ideas. He certainly couldn't explain to Ernie why he had done it, but Harry had needed to destroy the Horcrux.
Ernie's piercing gaze went straight through Harry. He had never been so angry, at least that he could remember. That cup had been his favorite, hence why he lent it to Harry to use. It was a family heirloom, and a very valuable one at that. Harry wasn't giving him any answers, and neither were any of his friends. Ernie snapped; he had finally lost his temper completely. He pulled out his wand and waved it fiercely in the direction of Harry and his companions. Immediately they zoomed up into the air hovering. With his wand pointed over his shoulder, Ernie stormed down the stairs, the rest following him up in the air. When he reached the first floor of the triple-decker bus, Ernie flicked his wand at their bags. They joined their owners in the air.
With another angry flick, the bus doors zoomed open. Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and a number of bags flew past a scared-looking Lance and out the doors of the bus. As the bus began to speed away, Lance stuck his head out of the bus doors, which had begun closing.
"Remember that the Knight Bus is always here for you!" he shouted quickly before retreating back into the bus. BANG. The bus sped away as a lamppost jumped out of its way. Harry sighed as he got up, brushing off his jeans. He helped Ginny up as well. Ron had already got to Hermione.
Harry looked around. They were somewhere in London, of that much he was sure. Well… Almost sure.
"You guys, I… I'm so sorry about that. It's my entire fault," Harry said, looking down at his feet. He felt his face flush a hot red. He then felt a cool sensation on his left cheek. He looked up and saw Ginny looking back at him, her hand on his cheek in a comforting way.
"Harry, it's fine… But… What happened?" she asked. Harry sighed.
"That… was just something I had to do," Harry said uneasily, giving Hermione and Ron a meaningful glance. He had intentionally not gone into explanation, since he vowed to Dumbledore he'd tell no one other than Ron and Hermione. Looking at Ginny, Harry saw she was confused.
"Ginny, I'm really sorry that I can't go further into-"
"No, Harry, I know what you're talking about. I heard you tell Ron and Hermione at school about the Horcruxes. I just don't understand why it was out in the open like that. Wouldn't he want it to be protected?"
"Maybe," Hermione said, "Voldemort intentionally left one out in the open. They always say that the best hiding spot is right out in the open. Anyone who manages to find the other Horcruxes would've assumed this one would be hidden too…"
Harry stared at Ginny, still perplexed. "Wait, how the hell do you know what we're talking about?" he asked Ginny.
"That day in Charms class, when you told Hermione and Ron. I was sent to fetch Dean because Professor McGonagall needed him. Anyways…" she trailed off. Harry looked stunned. He hadn't even noticed Ginny that day in class. Harry was, however, glad that he didn't have to break his word to Dumbledore. He never actually told Ginny, she had found out on her own.
"Listen," Harry said, "I don't think we should be talking about this out here. We need to go somewhere."
"How about the Leaky Cauldron?" Ginny suggested. Harry nodded.
"Shall we Apparate?" Hermione asked. Ron's face went slightly whiter at this suggestion.
"We… We can't. Ginny doesn't have her license, let alone even know how," Ron said in a pleading sort-of voice. Ginny raised an eyebrow at Ron.
"Harry doesn't have his license either, but that's not stopping him, now is it?" she stated, smiling at Ron. She loved proving him wrong, even though it wasn't the time or the place.
"Guys… Can we just go? I'll take Ginny. It only looks like it's a bit away," Harry begged. He was feeling very spent. He held out his arm. "Hold on tight, Ginny." As she did so, Harry turned on his heel and returned to the feeling he dreaded most about Disapparating. Everything went black as Harry and Ginny were pressed hard from every direction. He couldn't breathe, and felt as if his ribs were being crushed. When it seemed like Harry could take it no more, the feeling stopped. Harry opened his eyes and saw the lobby of the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry looked around at the familiar lodge-like lobby. A few picture frames littered the walls around the front desk. Harry stepped up to it, Ginny still at his side. Behind him, he heard loud pops as Ron and Hermione Apparated into the lobby, carrying their trunks. A short, pale man carrying a dimly lit lantern appeared at Harry's side.
"Can I 'elp you, sir?" said Tom the innkeeper. Harry blinked stupidly for a moment.
"Oh, yes. We need, er..." Harry said, trailing off. He didn't know what the others would think if he got one room for him and Ginny, or if Ron and Hermione had wanted to share a room. "We'll take 2 rooms," Harry finally finished. Tom looked at them suspiciously. "Oh one for me and Ron, of course. And the other for Ginny and Hermione," Harry continued hastily. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Ginny raise an eyebrow in his direction. He returned her glance with a calm one, assuring her those weren't his true intentions. Moodily, Tom showed them to their rooms.
After Hermione and Ginny were sure Tom had left, they clambered into Harry and Ron's room and resumed their conversation from the street.
"But Harry," Ginny began, "how were you sure that cup was a Horcrux?"
"Because I saw it in a memory that Dumbledore had obtained. Voldemort was interested in pride and value, and therefore created all his Horcruxes from items he valued. He used Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup, his diary, Slytherin's ring, and something of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw's."
"So Voldemort has 5 Horcruxes?" At this, Harry shook his head.
"He has seven. Dumbledore and I agree that his sixth must be Nagini, and you must also count the remaining bit of soul Voldemort has left within his body."
"Seven is the most powerful number," Hermione added for Ginny's benefit.
"So how many are left?" Ginny questioned.
"4. The unknown object of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw's, Nagini, and Voldemort, himself. The diary, the ring, and now the cup have all been destroyed." Harry looked at his friends. Ginny was still soaking it all in. Ron looked at bit confused, but so did Hermione.
"Wait," Hermione said. "You said 4 remained, but you only named 3. What about the locket, Harry?" Harry stared down at his jeans. His right pocket had been the locket's home for the entirety of the summer.
"The locket… is still out there. Dumbledore and I were out, getting the locket the night he was… murdered. It wasn't until after he died that I realized the locket was a fake." Pulling the locket out of his pocket, Harry passed it to Hermione, who gasped. She read the note inside it aloud, skeptically.
"Who the hell is R.A.B.?" Ron finally asked after a minute of awkward silence.
"I don't know. I had a hunch it was Regulus, Sirius' brother. But when I went to Grimmauld Place, his mother told me her son would never steal from the Dark Lord. She said that he had died honorably, though I highly doubt that."
"So… You've got no other ideas?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head in reply. It was Hermione that spoke up after this.
"But Harry, why were you able to touch the Horcruxes and Dumbledore wasn't?"
"I don't know," Harry replied solemny.
"Well maybe," Hermione continued, "is it possible that the Horcruxes each have different magic? I mean, you touched the diary without any problems in our second year."
"Yes, and the locket had all kinds of protection around it. I guess that each Horcrux is different." Hermione handed the locket back to Harry, and Harry replaced it back into his pocket. He sighed slowly and felt Ginny rest her head on his side. Sensing that he and Ginny were tired, Hermione stood and turned to Ron.
"Let's go, Ron." Ron looked up at Hermione in shock.
"Where are we going," he said quickly, looking up at Hermione.
"Oh, you didn't actually think you rooming with Harry, now did you?" Hermione said with a smile. Ron sent a questioning look at Harry. Harry winked at him and watched as Ron grinned and stood, following Hermione out the door.
Harry stood and went over to his trunk and got dressed in his pajamas. When he had turned back to Ginny, she was already in her nightgown and in bed. Harry laid next to her and smiled weakly. He was emotionally spent. As he went to give her a kiss, a large, brown owl fluttered through the window and landed on Harry's shoulder.
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A/N: Nora and I hope you all enjoy this! We spent many hours writing it. It's mainly explanatory, and we hope many of your questions were answered mostly, if not completely. Make sure to review or we just might not continue. Good night.