Chapter Twelve

The Decision

Ron stared in disbelief and Hermione sprang into action. "Come on, we have to get in there!"

At the sound of their shoes hitting the water-soaked floor, the Death Eaters in the circle all looked toward them. Many raised their wands in disjointed retaliation. Jordan spotted a stirring Harry on the floor and ran to him, but was caught mid-stride by one of the hooded figures.

"Harry!" she cried, struggling to get out of the Death Eater's grip.

"I got 'er, Master!" A shorter, heavy-set man yelled, hood falling farther over his eyes.

"Let her go, Goyle. It seems that dawn is rising."

"Huh?" The Death Eater still held the struggling woman.

"You heard the Dark Lord. Just let her go!" rasped Snape.

Jordan ran to Harry, who was being helped up by Hermione and Ron. Ron was happy to note that Harry finally seemed grateful that they were there.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked.

"My-my arm is broken, but other than that, I'm…hang on…" He noticed Jordan's tear-stained face and red eyes. "What about you? What happened to you?"

"Oh, Harry, this has suddenly become so much more difficult."

Holding his arm gingerly, he looked at his friends and then back at Jordan, "I don't understand. What did I miss?"

"Clear this room!" Voldemort bellowed.

The three of them turned toward the noise and saw the Death Eaters disapparating under protest one by one on the order of their master. The only one left in the room was Snape, standing with arms crossed over his chest.

"Jordan, come here." He said, slowly.

Harry tried to hold her back, but couldn't get to her in time.Her path was blocked when another figure appeared in front of Snape. Harry tried to take another step toward her.

"Harry, don't!" Hermione said and she motioned to Ron to help stop him.

"What is going on?" Harry demanded.

"Have you solved the riddle, Jordan?" said the tall man, removing his hood and cloak in one flourish. His skin was transparent and covered his face so tightly that his cheek bones and eye sockets were visible. Jordan shivered, but couldn't look away. He had no hair on his head, and his eyes were yellow, like Nagini's. His bony fingers where laced in front of him.

"Yes…"

"Leave her alone, Voldemort!" Harry yelled again, as Ron and Hermione loosened their grasp, struck paralyzed by the idea that the Dark Lord was truly in front of them.

"Ah, but Potter, you too need to hear this, as you are nearing the end of your journey!"

Snape waved his wand from behind Voldemort and Harry tripped, sliding forward roughly on the floor, stopping only when he was next to Jordan. His face twisted in pain as his broken arm hit the stone again and again.

Unsteady, he got to his feet and cradled the broken arm with the whole one. "It's about time you showed yourself." Harry's voice cracked under the strain.

Instead of showing anger, the Dark Lord simply laughed. "Even now, you are stupid! Nothing changes. You truly belonged in Slytherin."

"Never!" Harry's voice was stronger, "Never!"

Snape moved out from the shadows of the Dark Lord and stood behind Harry. Ron and Hermione tensed, wondering if their best friend knew Snape was there.

"Tsk, tsk, your wand arm is no good, is it?" The Potions teacher smirked. "We certainly can't have that. But you know how to fix it, don't you?"

Jordan realized he was talking to her and she shook her head. Fix Harry's broken arm? What was he talking about?

"You do, girl! Think!"

The words formed themselves in her mind. She didn't know where or how they came about, but she said them, "Bracchium Ermendo."

"What?" Snape asked, loudly.

"Bracchium Ermendo!"

Harry shuddered at first, reminded of the backward attempt of former Defense Against the Dark Arts fraud, or Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, who cast that spell on Harry once before. All that had happened were the bones in Harry's broken arm had disappeared and he spent the night in the hospital wing; taking something disgusting that Madame Pomfrey said would re-grow them. Now, he took a deep breath as the pain went away. He shook his wand arm out and smiled. Good, he thought, now he'd have a fighting chance again.

"And how did you know that?" The Potions Master began to circle Harry and Jordan.

"I—I don't know."

"Yes, you do. Tell us!"

"I said—I don't know."

He stopped behind her, put his arm around her shoulders and pointed his wand at her throat. "Yes—you—do."

"Stop!" Harry had his wand out, had taken a step forward, "Leave her alone, Snape!"

Jordan closed her eyes. It had to come out sometime. It had to be revealed that she was to be Harry Potter's downfall, his possible death. "Because I—I'm the horcrux!"

Harry nearly dropped his wand. He felt his knees giving way, felt himself sink to the ground. Jordan watched him fall and couldn't begin to think what was going through his head.

Snape snickered and released her.

"Potter, unless you want to hand her over to me now," Voldemort's voice broke through the stillness of the chamber, "you have three days left."

Harry had almost forgotten he was there. He said nothing, didn't have anything to say. Why had she betrayed him? How had he let himself fall for her?

Jordan looked from Harry to the Dark Lord and wondered exactly what would happen if she remained with Voldemort. How painful was the process of removing the piece of his soul that was within her? Would she die during it? Would she want to?

"Three days…" Harry said, slowly.

In a moment, there was a loud crack. Snape and Voldemort had disapparated and by the eerie silence in the room, all knew that for the moment,they were safe.

"We should get out of here." Ron finally spoke, his voice dry. He was still confused by what had just happened.

"Yes, you're right." Hermione agreed, taking the hand he offered her.

Harry got shakily to his feet, still silent, as though he were in shock. Jordan said nothing as well, unable to believe the enormous difference in what her life had been just weeks ago and what it was now. She turned and followed Ron and Hermione out of the Chamber and back into the corridor.

"WAIT!" Harry yelled, his voice echoing off the slippery stone.

All three turned back, startled.

"What Harry?" Hermione asked, in as patient a voice as she could muster.

"Jordan and I need to talk—now."

"Harry, not here, can't we go to Gryffindor Tower?"

He shot Hermione a look that shut her up immediately, as he tried desperately to hang on to his emotions. The two friends knew better than to argue and left.Harry stood still until he no longer heard their footsteps. As soon as it was silent, he turned to Jordan. "How long have you known?"

"Harry…"

"HOW LONG DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD GO ON MAKING A FOOL OF ME?"

She jumped at his outburst, and backed away. "Harry, please…"

His face wassteel; his eyes were no longer bright but a dark, menacing color, boring into the very soul that might not even be her own. He had reached the end—his final straw—he could not take being betrayed once more. "I should kill you right now." He spoke slowly, as if she were a child. "You have been working with them all along. Hermione was right! I should just kill you!"

Jordan watched him, as though she were above the scene, looking down on people she didn't know. His wand was at the ready, pointed toward her chest, just waiting for an excuse. Deep down, she knew he couldn't. Not yet.

"You don't want to kill me, Harry. But you will have to—in the end."

"NO!" He yelled, defeated.

"I'm sorry, Harry." Jordan walked out of the room. She knew he wouldn't be far behind. She made her way to the stairs and walked up flight after flight, not even feeling winded. In truth, she didn't feel much at all.

At the Fat Lady, she said, "Galleon!" and with a "hmphh!" she was let in the common room. Ron and Hermione stood quickly at her arrival.

"Where's Harry?" Ron asked, urgently.

"He's coming, I expect."

"Is he—alright?"

"I don't know. He will be, I'm sure. He's been through so much."

Ron sat heavily in one of the chairs by the fireplace. "I know I'm a bit thick-headed, but I don't understand. How did you suddenly become a horcrux?"

"It wasn't suddenly." Hermione offered.

Jordan shook her head. She leaned against the windowsill, staring outside, seeing nothing but blackness, and preferring it that way. "First off, I had no idea."

Harry entered quietly, and stopped when he heard her talking. "It's not fair." he said.

Jordan turned. "When you mentioned Ravenclaw the first time we were here, the name sounded familiar to me, like something distant in my past. While the three of you were gone, I started reading your textbooks. I read a lot about you Harry…and then…"

Hermione picked up Hogwarts: A History. "Of course! That's where I had heard about you. It says in here under Rowena Ravenclaw that there was a legend about Voldemort…"

Ron shuddered at the name.

"…that Voldemort allegedly put his soul into something belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw—one of her American descendents."

Ron looked over Hermione's shoulder. "They actually mention your name in here."

"I know that now."

"You had no idea you had magic ancestry?" Harry asked.

"Did you?"

Harry shook his head. She had a point.

"It was so long ago, Harry. No one ever said anything. No stories were passed down—nothing. I just knew the name Ravenclaw because it's my great, great-aunt's maiden name."

"Why you?" Ron asked.

"To destroy me."

"Harry…" Hermione looked at him. "Voldemort's soul could have been put into Jordan before you were born."

"It doesn't matter. You were right—in a way. That's why I met Jordan."

Well, you have three days. Maybe you can find another horcrux to replace her."

Harry snorted, "It took me three weeks to find this one. Some Chosen One I am."

Hermione had an idea. She smiled and went to Jordan. "Maybe you have more than 3 days."

"What do you mean?"

"The Time Turner."

Harry stood straight, feeling lighter than he had all night. "Yes! It's in McGonagall's office, isn't it?"

"What is a Time Turner?"

Hermione explained to Jordan how a Time Turner worked and told about how she had doubled up on classes during her third year thanks to it. "You won't get too much more time out of it, though."

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Voldemort will be able to see right through it, I imagine. He's very powerful."

"We could buy some time." Jordan smiled. "Enough time for me to go home."

"Home?" Ron asked. "Are you mental?"

"Home…to America. To see my family one last time."

"You can't be serious?" Harry couldn't believe after everything, she was going to leave him.

"Yes, I am."

Hermione and Ron looked at each other then at the shocked face of their best friend.

"Do you really think that's wise?" Hermione asked.

"Why?"

"Well, won't Voldemort think you're trying to escape?"

"Would you really---?" Harry started.

"Who cares?" Jordan interrupted. "Really! Voldemort knows we know who I am. That was his game. He is sufficiently punishing Harry by making him kill me or surrender me. He's given us three days. We'll never find another horcrux. I have the right to see my family!"

Ron held Hermione's hand to keep her from answering. "You should go home," he said. "And you, mate…" He looked at Harry, "should let her go."

Hermione silently gave Jordan a hug and then backed away. "We're only a call away.We'll be here when you get back."

Ron nodded and reached a hand out to her. She pulled him into a hug and he could feel his face redden. She whispered in his ear, "He will need you both now."

Ron and Hermione left the room to Jordan and Harry. She took a deep breath and stared at him. His face was a mixture of disbelief and fear.

"Harry, I am sorry."

He nodded, "It's better that you go. I can think of a way—to—get round this."

She sat, feeling the weight of the night intruding on her, "Harry, I would rather die than live with his soul inside of me."

He knew how violated he had felt just being privy to the Dark Lord's dreams and emotions. "I don't blame you. I just wish—I wish…"

"What?"

"I wish we'd had more time."

"Me, too."

"I'll miss you."

"Bye, Harry." She turned to leave.

"Wait! The Time Turner."

"Forget it. It's too late. I just need you to get me to the airport."

Reluctantly, he led her down the stairs and away from the castle—possibly away from him forever.