I've finally updated. Sorry it took so long. School, you know how it is. Sorry it's not that long, but if you make the text bigger, it'll seem like its longer!

Chapter Eight- The Dragons Nest

Harry felt the ground stabilize beneath his feet. He felt the guilt swell up inside him, at the thought of leaving Ginny like that. He wished she could come, she could be next to him right now, but it was far too dangerous. He tried pushed the thoughts from his mind, and turned to see Ron and Hermione standing beside him. "Well, here we are, mate," Ron said, seeing the disheartened look in Harry's eyes. "This is what you wanted."

"Yeah," Harry mumbled, concentrating on a piece of paper that blowing across the ground.

"Aw, Cheer up Harry," Hermione begged, pulling on Harry's wrist. "It's not that bad. Ginny will be fine." She paused, seeing that here speech was only making Harry more heart sore. "Well," she smiled nervously, "It's this way…I think." She took a few steps, then turned around to make sure Harry was following. He was still starring at the ground. She strode back to him, and lifted his chin. "Harry, believe me, you have to move on. You know that you have to fight, um, him," she glanced around to make sure nobody else was listening. "You can't do that if you don't have your mind in the right place."

That seemed to snap Harry out of a trance. "Er, which way?" he asked.

Hermione smiled. "Follow me," she took of down a strange street, and Harry and Ron exchanged nervous looks, before following her.

Harry looked around for the first time since he got there. The streets seemed crooked, and some of the houses seemed to be 200 years old. Shops were at the edges of the streets, and, even though it was the middle of the night, a few people walked on the sidewalks. Hermione took a turn down a dark alleyway, and walked towards a dark building at the end. Ron grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. "Are you sure we should go down there?" he asked, in a higher pitched voice than normal.

Hermione only chuckled, and took Ron's hand. "Don't be silly," she lead both of them to the door of the inn. Bravely, she opened the door, and was greeted by a wave of noise. Wizards of all ages were sitting at tables, drinking butterbeer, and talking in voices far louder than necessary. The scene seemed to somehow cheer Harry up a bit.

"Hullo there," A man said, casually walking up them, with a cup in one hand. He had shaggy blond hair and glasses that perched on the end of his nose. There was a little bit of beard, and he seemed to be dressed in muggle clothes. He swayed dangerously, obviously drunk. "I'm the manager here, name's Sam. What can I do for you," He used large hand motions and slurred his words together to a point where it was almost incomprehensible.

After a moment, where Hermione looked at him in pure disgust, she spoke to him. 'Um… yes, we're here to get two rooms, if you have any."

"Of course, of course," Sam grabbed Hermione around the shoulders, pulling her hand away from Ron's, leaving Ron to, angrily, follow. He led her to a bar where he called to the bartender. "Oiy, James, get me four butterbeers." Harry looked at his father's name. He looked at the man behind the counter, but then disappointment took him as he realized it wasn't his dad at all. James didn't look anything like Harry's dad. He had a dark blond hair fell loosely around his face and he had a scar that ran from his right ear to his left eyebrow.

"Are you sure you should be having another, Sam?" James asked. "You've had quite a few already."

"Nonsense," Sam argued. "I'm perfectly capable of having another. James sighed and pushed four glasses towards Sam. Harry, Ron, and Hermione each grabbed a glass, and Sam grabbed the last.

"Now, your rooms," Sam said, stumbling over the words.

"Yes, you'll have rooms thirteen and fourteen." He staggered over to his counter and pulled out two keys, handing one to Harry, and one to Hermione, although he let go of the key before Hermione had it in her grasp, making Hermione have to pick if up off the floor. Harry pulled some coins out of his pocket, handing them to Sam, who dropped many of them, but didn't seem to notice. Grateful to have a reason to get away from Sam, the trio made their way up the old stairs leading to their rooms.

"Right," Ron said looking at his key. "Harry and I've got thirteen and you've got fourteen. Great, right across the hall from each other."

Harry hauled his trunk into the room and plopped it on the bed. He sat down next to it, yawning loudly. "How 'bout we go to bed, now."

"Oh, no," Hermione squealed. "We can't do that. We've only just gotten here. Isn't it exciting? I wouldn't be able to sleep without looking at the library. Why don't you guys come too?"

"What would you want to go the library for?" Ron asked, sitting next Harry. "It's the middle of the night, we can do it in the morning."

"I haven't even seem what books they have here, yet," Hermione argued. "Maybe they'll have something that Hogwarts didn't. I'm hoping they'll have books about the dark arts, so I can read up and find something about Horcruxes. Aren't you guys even the slightest bit curious about the Dragon Nest's shops?"

Harry yawned and shook his head.

"Oh, honestly," Hermione said, and walked off to go look in the library by herself.

"We'll do it tomorrow," Harry muttered to Ron, before laying his head on his trunk and.

"I do feel kind of bad about making Hermione go do it all by herself though," Ron said. Harry didn't answer, and Ron realized he was already asleep.

"Ron, Harry, wake up," Hermione said, banging loudly on their door.

"Wha', who's there," Ron asked sitting up slowly.

Harry groaned and opened the door, only to leap back as Hermione burst into the room.

"You won't believe the library they have here," she told them. "Almost as many books as at Hogwarts, honestly. A lot of useful information, too."

"Did you find anything new about the Horcruxes or anything like that?" Harry asked, suddenly awake.

"Er…. No," Hermione told them, seeming somewhat ashamed. "Not that I've found."

"Then wha'd'ya wake us up for?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I wanted to go the shops," She explained. "I've almost run out of parchment."

"Alright," Harry grumbled, still angry that she had woken then up early. He ran a hand through his hair, and considered it brushed, then pulled out a bag from his trunk and put his invisibility cloak in it, remembering what Dumbledore had told him about keeping it with him at all times. Hermione, who hadn't slept at all the previous night, seemed more awake then Ron and Harry put together as she bounded down the stairs.

"This way," she told Harry and Ron, leading them into a room that they had not seen the previous night.

"Hermione, slow down," Ron yelled after her. "I can't keep up, and I don't want you to get separated from us." He ran up to her and pulled her back, keeping his arm around her shoulder.

The room they entered was the library. "Hermione, I thought we going to the shops." Harry argued.

"Oh we are," Hermione said, and pulled a book from the shelf. A panel of book flew off of their shelves and the boards magically disappeared showing a secret passageway, and a lot of stairs. "Come on," she said, grabbing their wrists and leading them down.