Hey. Surprised huh? Didn't think Chapter six would be up so soon? Well, here it is. Enjoy. Review though. Haha. Thanks for reading. Chapter seven coming soon…

CHAPTER SIX

THE DURMSTRANG INSTITUTE OF MAGIC

"Viktor!" squealed Hermione as she rushed to Krum, hugging him under the pale moonlight. "I've missed you so much."

"Yes, Hermione. I've missed you, too." Said Krum, hugging her back as Ron and Harry eyed them weirdly. "We must get inside. It is too cold out here."

Krum then opened the large iron gate and welcomed the three Hogwarts students into the entrance hall of the Durmstrang Institute of Magic. There, they were standing in a circular, towering room with torches on the walls. Green flags were hanging by the walls while a grand staircase stood by the front, dividing halfway up into two opposite, smaller staircases going left and right. Upon looking up at the ceiling, a stained glass dome opened handsomely as magical green dust kept on falling down from the dome's center. The dust though, kept on disappearing before hitting the floor, giving an infinite curtain of green dust everywhere in the entrance hall.

"Welcome to Durmstrang, my friends," said Krum. "I think you three have mentioned something about Horcruxes in the letter you have sent me?"

"Yes," said Hermione, still gawking at the dome, apparently transfixed in its majesty. "We did. It's a banned subject in Hogwarts so …well, we had no place to look for answers. We knew we had to go here since your school focused on the dark arts. Wait… Viktor, your English… I remembered you were a bit, a bit off in speaking the language."

"Haha. I'm better, right? Well, I knew I had to learn it to speak with you, my dear. I knew that I had to see you someday so I wanted to make sure that when we did meet, I'd be able to speak with you properly."

"Oh, Viktor!" gushed Hermione as she hugged Krum yet again.

"Stop with the mushy stuff!" chipped in Ron. "We need to find the stuff about the Horcruxes and we haven't got all night."

"Ya," said Hermione, releasing Krum from her embrace. "I guess your right. Let's go."

Krum led them up the grand staircase and turned left. They were now walking down a corridor with portraits of men and women who were, no doubt, the past headmasters. Sure enough, they saw a portrait with a man sitting by a table drinking wine. Under the frame was a nameplate saying "Igor Karkaroff."

"So," started Hermione as they were walking. "Viktor, what happened to Karkaroff?"

"When he ran off the night the Dark Lord returned to power, well, we had a new headmaster" said Krum, now leading them into another hallway with chandeliers emitting a deep blue light. "His name is Gnylo Berberini. He's okay. Well, the library is near now. Beyond that door" pointed out Krum, his finger pointing towards a mahogany door.

They walked towards the door and opened it. Inside was a massive library though still smaller than that of Hogwart's. In front was a table where a tall, slender, beautiful woman was sitting. She looked at them and smiled, then returning to some papers she was reading.

They then turned right into a hall full of books up to the third floor. They took a spiraling staircase to the third floor and walked across halls of bookshelves. They finally reached the back end and settled on a table.

"I found these books with reference to Horcruxes" said Krum, pointing out a pile of books by the wooden table.

"How did you find these?" asked Hermione as she turned the books over. "I mean you found them so fast by yourself."

"I've always been a book person. I remember going to the library at Hogwarts everyday years ago. I'm always at the library. Besides, I'm a teacher now so I should know the ins and outs of this place. I graduated two years ago so, well, I teach here."

They started to look through the books. One was entitled "The Quest for Immortality by Mafalda Gindela". Ron opened it and started to browse through it but apparently, found nothing on how to destroy a Horcrux.

"This book is rubbish!" said Ron as he chucked the 'The Quest for Immortality' book aside. "It just talks about how to be immortal and how to make a Horcrux rather than destroying a Horcrux and become mortal again."

They continued to search. Harry opened a book called "Soul Magic" written by Paulina Vertigneska and looked at the pages within. He looked at the index pages and looked for the letter H. He found it. "Harnessing the power of the soul… Herbal magic… Hidden elements of the human soul…" mouthed Harry as he scanned the H column of the index. At last, he found it. Horcrux details were found in page 764. He quickly turned to that page and was faced with the word Horcruxes written in fancy curvy writing above the text about the Horcrux itself.

He started to read. Horcruxes are usually seen as an extreme act to seek immortality or to ensure survival. Commonly associated to dark magic, Horcruxes are created by splitting the soul into two and keeping one part of it in an object, thus preserving the person's life. This though, is not advisable since splitting the soul is unnatural. The soul is a whole entity and the only way to split it is to do the most heinous act—murder.

Harry was getting impatient. He knew all about this. What he needed to know was how to destroy a Horcrux. He then scanned the page and found the heading: 'How to reverse the effects of the Horcrux.'

Since Horcruxes contain the soul of a being, it cannot be destroyed by merely getting rid of the physical object. The soul is abstract and cannot be destroyed by merely obliterating the container, or Horcrux, it dwells in. The only way to destroy the soul that is within the Horcrux is to let it be acquired by a being that naturally consumes souls.

Harry was starting to make sense with what he read. He knew what a being that naturally consumes souls is. He knew what to do. Excited with his realization, he looked up from the book to share his discovery but what he saw sent him chills up his spine.

Hermione was in the arms of Krum as her lips were wrapped in Viktor's. Her hands were in his neck and cheeks, massaging his hair and neck. Moans were heard as the kissing ensued. Harry saw their tongues going down the other's mouth, causing his hairs to stand on end.

"Guys!" said Harry. "Break it up."

"Oh, sorry Harry" said Hermione, finally letting go of Krum. "I was umm, carried away"

"You found something?" asked Krum, full of hickeys by his neck.

"Ya. But where is Ron?" asked Harry confidently, knowing that he found something from a book and Hermione didn't.

"He went to the bathroom" said Hermione while she smiled at Krum with a twinkle in her eye.

Soon, Ron came trotting back towards the table and faced Harry. "So" said Ron. "Found something?"

"Yeah. Listen," said Harry as he pulled himself closer towards the table and faced Hermione, Krum, and Ron. "In this book, it says that the only thing that can destroy a Horcrux is by exposing it to a 'being that naturally destroys soul'."

"That makes sense" said Hermione, now focused on the whole Horcrux agenda. "I mean destroying the Horcrux itself is not enough since you only destroyed the case that contains the soul."

"Wait. Let me finish" hissed Harry. "So you guys know what this 'being that naturally consumes souls' is?"

"No…" chorused the three in unison.

"I have a hunch" answered Harry. "Think about it. What creature sucks out souls?"

"I know!" squealed Hermione. "A Dementor!"

"Exactly!"

"This is going to be difficult. You do realize that Harry?" said Hermione.

"Why?"

"Because the Dementors are now on Voldemort's side. I mean where can you find a Dementor that is willing to play a part in destroying its master?"

"Well, I may have an idea how to get a Dementor willing to do so" said Harry, knowing the dangerous implications this idea had.

END OF CHAPTER SIX