A/N: Here's chapter 10, where our unlikely trio finishes their tale and plans their next move. (Also, I know one reviewer asked about Nagini early on - you'll find out what happened to her in this chapter as well.) Hope you enjoy! :)
"Dear God," I murmur when Harry finishes his tale. "How did you even had a body to come back to?" Harry shrugs.
"Dunno. Maybe my body somehow knew I was still 'alive', and preserved itself? Who knows – magic is weird." Draco snorts at Harry's declaration.
"And how did he come to be with you?" I ask Draco. He grins.
"Idiot got himself caught," he says.
"Shut up," Harry says again. "It's not my fault, those damn flowers made me sneeze!" I giggle at that. Didn't Draco catch me the exact same way earlier tonight, because I'd sneezed?
"I spent ages trying to find you all – anyone in the Order, really," Harry says. "But it didn't take me long to figure out that Voldy was controlling the UK and to guess that you'd probably gone underground. Didn't have my D.A. coin anymore – I think I left it in your charmed bag – and I wasn't stupid enough to use a Patronus, so I knew I'd just have to look for you the hard way. One night, I was exhausted and not paying attention nearly as much as I should've been, and I blundered right into Draco here, out on patrol. I thought I was dead, but he hauled me off to Malfoy Manor, let me in on his secret, and demanded to know what the hell I was doing, just wandering around like that. We've been working together ever since."
I stay quiet for several minutes as I mull over everything I've just heard. Draco and Harry's stories have turned my understanding of this war on its head, but they've also opened up a whole new avenue of possibilities. For one thing, 'the Chosen One' is still alive, which is a beacon of hope if there ever was one, and for another, if everything Draco's said is indeed true – and I'm inclined to believe it is; Harry's willingly teamed up with him, after all, and there are no signs of him being cursed into doing so – then we have one of Voldemort's most trusted followers on our side. That's huge.
"You're awfully quiet," Draco comments after a while. "I'd have thought you'd be spouting off questions left and right." I sigh.
"I just…it's a lot," I admit. "I mean…just the fact that you two are still alive…I guess my only question is, where do we go from here?"
"What do you mean?" Harry asks.
"Well," I say, "we – meaning GHRS – have been operating under the assumption that the final battle is almost here, giving your presence in the city." I nod at Draco. "We figured Voldy wouldn't have bothered sending one of his senior lieutenants here otherwise, and Draco all but confirmed that when he says Voldy plans to stage a massive attack here. So why don't we use that to our advantage and turn the attack into the final battle?"
"Because there's another Horcrux." My jaw drops.
"Harry James Potter, I swear, if you're fucking with me…"
"I'm not fucking with you, Hermione." Harry pauses and laughs a little. "Sorry – I still think it's funny hearing you swear."
"Swearing is the least of what I've done over the last three years, I can promise you that." Harry doesn't miss the dark undertone of my words, and his expression sobers.
"I know." He squeezes my hand and I lean into him, savoring the comfort. A part of me still can't believe that he's here, alive and whole and ready to help us end this war.
"But there really is another Horcrux," Harry continues. "We don't know what it is, unfortunately, but we know it exists, and we have reason to believe it's here in London."
"But how do you know it exists?" I ask with a frown. "I doubt Voldy would have told even his inner circle about that, especially not after he lost two Horcruxes thanks to Lucius and Bellatrix."
"Because Nagini is gone."
"His snake?" I ask, looking at Draco.
"Yes, his snake. I suspect she was actually a Horcrux for a while; he kept her with him at all times during the Battle of Hogwarts, in this protective bubble of sorts. I think that started to take a toll on her after a while – we all know the troubles that the Horcrux bit inside Potter gave him over the years, and I imagine she was suffering similarly. She began aging quite rapidly after the Battle of Hogwarts. It was also quite obvious that there was something extra important about her, given all the extra protection spells – too obvious, I think, for his liking. Regardless, Nagini died just a few months after the battle. I think we can safely assume he didn't take that soul piece back for himself, which means he put it somewhere else."
Of course Voldemort wouldn't have taken the soul piece back – the only way to undo the damage to the soul caused by making a Horcrux is to feel genuine remorse, and after everything he's done, I'm not sure if he's even capable of it.
"What makes you think this new Horcrux is in London?" I ask next. "The rest of them were scattered all over the UK, and he's already used Gringotts."
"I don't think this one's in Gringotts," Draco says with a shake of his head. "I think it's in the Ministry."
"The Ministry?" Interesting.
"Apparently, Voldy makes regular appearances there," Harry explains. "Makes sure everyone who works there knows who's really running things and all that."
"But you couldn't just stick a Horcrux on a shelf somewhere," I argue. "It's not like a Gringotts vault, which people don't visit all that often – someone's bound to notice the Dark magic in something like that."
"Not necessarily," Draco counters, and I frown as I realize he's right. The Horcruxes we've already destroyed only reared their ugly heads when in direct contact with someone – the soul bit in the locket influenced whichever one of us was wearing it, the diary messed with Harry and Ginny when they wrote in it, the ring cursed Dumbledore's hand because he wore it. Whatever this last Horcrux is, it could be on display right in the Minister's office, and no one would be the wiser.
"Perhaps not," I say slowly, "but I don't think he would leave a Horcrux out in the open like that. He's not stupid – there's always a chance someone could figure out what it really was, especially if he's managed to find another important Wizarding relic. He would want it to be safe, secure."
"But if it's not at the Ministry, then where is it?" Harry asks, frustrated. "We can't end this if there's still another Horcrux out there."
"I didn't say it's not at the Ministry," I say quietly. "It could very well be there – the place has dozens of departments, and I'm sure it's got at least one viable hiding place. But we can't plan anything unless we're absolutely sure – if something goes wrong and he gets even a hint that we know there's another Horcrux, we're done for."
"Because he'll just make another one, or move the existing one somewhere that we'll never find," Harry finishes. "Trust me, I know. The fact that we even have an idea of where this one might be is huge. I just…we're not sure where to go from here."
"Come back with me," I say at once.
"What?"
"Come back with me," I repeat. "To GHRS headquarters. You can come too, if you want, Draco. I can get you in."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Granger," Draco says warily. "You and Potter know whose side I'm on, but none of the rest of your merry band does – they're liable to kill me on sight. Besides, what happened earlier tonight was a major mistake on my part – I cannot go out in public as myself if we're going to pull this off. If any of the Death Eaters were to see me, it'd be game over."
"We can't reveal your identity until it's absolutely necessary," Harry agrees. "Too much depends on it."
"What about you, Pansy?" I ask. "You haven't said much." Pansy shrugs.
"These two had much more of the story to tell than I did," she replies. "I'm just…along for the ride, as it were."
"But where do you fit into all of this?" I wonder.
"Granger, he killed my parents too," Pansy says flatly. "I want him gone as much as you all do. And…for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what I said about Potter, that day." She doesn't have to elaborate; I know she means before the Battle of Hogwarts, when she suggested turning Harry in.
"You were scared," I say with a shrug. "I think a lot of other people would have said the same, if you hadn't done it first."
"Regardless, I was a coward. I've been trying to help, in my own way. I might not be conveniently placed like Draco or the central figure of the movement like Harry, but I can move about virtually unseen. My disguise isn't particularly memorable, so nobody really looks twice at me – you can listen in on a lot of conversations that way."
"Just like Lavender," I murmur to myself.
"Lavender?" Harry asks. I hadn't realized he'd heard me.
"Lavender Brown, yes. She's part of our London contingent." Harry looks confused, so I explain. "We had to split up after the Battle of Hogwarts – we didn't have much time to get away, and there wasn't anywhere big enough for all of us to stay together and still be safe. One group stayed in Scotland, one came here to London, and the third went to Surrey, although they joined up with us not long ago."
"Potter should go with you," Draco says. "Obviously, you'll have to come back fairly quickly, unless we can come up with a believable cover story for why I suddenly no longer have a carriage driver, but Granger's right – if we're heading towards the final battle, they need to know you're alive."
"I can still barely believe it, and I've been sat right next to you for hours," I say, nodding vigorously. "Imagine what would happen if I just waltzed into headquarters and told them you were alive – without proof, they'd think I'd gone mad."
"Well, that's debatable," Pansy mutters. When I shoot her a look, she scoffs and adds, "Honestly, can't you Gryffindors take a joke?"
"Do you know who you've been chatting with?" I ask her suddenly. "Who wrote you the letter that got me caught in the first place?" She's been making all sorts of snarky comments about Gryffindors tonight – does she know she's been flirting with one of the most Gryffindor Gryffindors out there?
"What letter?" Pansy wants to know. I shoot Draco a pointed look, and he rolls his eyes but hands over the piece of parchment that started this whole thing. Pansy's eyes rove from side to side as she reads it, a small smile appearing on her face.
"He's not the brightest, if he thinks we can get out of here so easily, but he's sweet," she murmurs. Her head jerks up suddenly and she looks at me, her dark eyes piercing.
"You know exactly who wrote this, don't you?" she asks, that piercing gaze narrowing.
"I do. I'm not sure it's my place to tell you, but I know who wrote it. And I know he gave you enough clues to figure it out yourself. I, um, overheard you two talking one night."
"What's all this about?" Harry asks, looking confused once more. I gesture to the letter.
"Pansy – well, Colette, anyway – has an admirer in GHRS, and I know who it is," I explain. I give Harry a significant look and add, "It's Billy from Devon." Harry's expression of confusion morphs into one of shock.
"No…" I nod, smiling slightly.
"I think you've got it," I say. I look at Pansy. "Well?" She sighs.
"I know he's a Weasley," she says. Draco's just taken a sip of his drink and nearly spits it back out.
"A Weasley, Pans? Seriously?"
"Oh, don't you start," she retorts. She turns back to me and continues, "Talk of running away to Devon? I'm not stupid – I know the Weasleys grew up there. I just don't know which Weasley; there are too damn many of them."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Ignoring the fact Draco swearing is just as weird as me doing it, I know he's figured it out. After all, Harry's reaction all but gave it away, and Pansy's comment that she knows her mystery suitor is a Weasley just cemented it. To my surprise, Draco starts to laugh.
"Pans, you really don't know who you've fallen for, do you?" he asks, laughing so hard he's practically crying. His reaction does it, and I can see the moment it clicks into place for the dark-haired young woman.
"Well, shit," she says. "The Golden Trio are all in the same city, aren't you?" Feeling like I owe her the truth after everything that's happened tonight, I nod.
"The only Weasleys in London right now are Bill and Fleur, Ginny…and Ron."
"Well, I never saw that one coming in a million years…but it is what it is, I suppose." Harry, Draco, and I are all stunned by Pansy's response, but she merely rolls her eyes.
"Isn't the point of this whole tell-all that we shouldn't judge people on stupid prejudices and all that? I didn't know who he was, but if he was genuine in his actions, then I like who I fell for, and I'm not going to be so shallow as to change my mind just because I know his name."
Huh. Well, then. I guess I need to work on my snap judgements as well. I can only hope for Pansy's sake that Ron gives her the same courtesy.
"I need to get going soon," I say not long after that, catching the time on the ornate mantel clock. Sure, GHRS knows I'm out on patrol, but we've been here practically all night.
"I'll get the cloak," Harry says, rising from the sofa. Draco explained earlier that only he can remove Harry and Pansy's specialized Glamours, and since Draco isn't coming with us to headquarters, Harry needs to make the trip as himself. Thankfully, the invisibility cloak is still in his possession and still as perfect as ever, so as long as he's careful to watch his feet, we should be fine.
"Keep an eye on your coin," Draco reminds Harry. Ironically enough, the two young men have been using the same remote communication method as GHRS.
"I've got it right here, don't worry," Harry reassures him. He pulls a thin gold chain from beneath his shirt collar, holding up the silver Sickle attached to it. To my surprise, Draco hands me an identical coin.
"I need to be able to get in touch on a moment's notice," is all he says as I slip the coin into the charmed pocket where I keep my GHRS Galleon. I nod in understanding, and Harry and I follow Draco out into the front garden. When we reach the gate, I turn to face Draco.
"Thank you," I say quietly. "This…I know this isn't how you thought you'd be spending your evening, but…this means a lot."
"Don't go getting sappy on me, Granger," he replies, but he nods all the same. "Let's just finish this, yeah?" He and Harry nod to one another, and then Harry vanishes under the cloak and we step through the gate, the wards rippling as we pass.
"Follow me, and stay close," I murmur as quietly as I can. It's still early enough that hardly anyone else is out and about, but we can't be too careful. I send a quick message to everyone at GHRS via the Galleon calling for an emergency morning meeting, and then we're off.
