Chapter 20

Harry turned the half bracelet over in his hands, studying it. The strange dark magic within the half bracelet was reacting with his own magic, swirling and flowing much like water. He felt more powerful, but more importantly, in control.

He was back in the room he had been hiding himself and Hedwig in. He had tested the half bracelet's magic on Hedwig and the cat was more stable now. Her paw had been healed and she could walk easier now. But it was only a temporary solution.

Harry abruptly stood up. Hedwig's head perked up at his sudden movement. Harry walked over and rubbed her chin, causing the cat to purr.

"I'll be back soon, Hedwig," he muttered.

Hedwig meowed in response. Harry looked at the half bracelet in his hands and muttered a tracking spell under his breath. If this half of the bracelet was leaking dark magic, then it was likely the other half was leaking as well. It would be worth trying a tracking spell.

According to the documents of the bracelets, the broken halves of one were taken by the British and the Americans. Harry was expecting the other half to be somewhere in America. And sure enough, a few minutes later, he had the location of the other half of the bracelet.

"Death Valley, California," Harry muttered. "A desert where almost no water comes down, and from the flow of the magic of this half of the bracelet, I would say this is the water bracelet."

Harry shrugged.

"Only one way to find out," he said, tucking the bracelet into his pocket.

Hedwig meowed again and made to stand up, but Harry stopped her, gently petting her.

"Stay here, Hedwig," he muttered. "I'll be back for you in a short while."

Harry pulled out his portkey and within the next second, he was gone. Hedwig stared at the spot he had last been. She meowed before going back to sleep.

"Everyone, this recent attack on the Ministry is a direct declaration of war," Moody said. "The Americans have officially agreed to help us hunt down Riddle. As of now, he could be anywhere in the world. You'll all be going in teams of to search two or three countries at a time. If you see him, do not engage in battle. Call back to headquarters and report your findings. We'll go from there."

Eric and Ron were assigned to the Asia team along with James.

"Eric and Ron, you two will be taking China with another team from America," Moody said. "China's a big country, but I want every inch of that country searched. Our people are spread kind of thin at the moment, so when other teams are done, I'll assign them to China as well. James, you've been assigned to South Korea with three others from America. Go meet with your teams."

Eric and Ron grabbed the portkey they had been given. Within the minute, they were in China.

"You know, I had always wanted to go to China, but I didn't expect this was how I would be going," Ron said.

Eric chuckled in amusement.

"So what exactly would we be looking for?" Ron asked.

"Let's meet up with the others first," Eric said. "We need to divide the search up or it'll take forever."

"No need to come searching for us," a voice said from behind them.

Eric and Ron turned around to see a fairly young man and woman: Aurors like them.

"Jacob Johnson," the man said.

"And I'm his partner, Isabella Williams," the woman said. "You can call me Bella though."

"Eric Potter; that's Ron Granger-Weasley," Eric said. "It's nice to meet you."

"So, you have any idea what we're looking for? Any clues of how to find this Riddle guy?" Jacob asked.

"Nope," Ron said.

"Do you know anything about him? Patterns? Behavior?" Bella asked.

"All too well...sort of," Eric said.

"What does that mean?" even Ron looked confused.

Eric sighed.

"Ron and I went to school with him and his twin brother," he said. "And just a little while ago, he was supposed to be dead."

"Well, it obviously didn't stick," Bella said sarcastically.

"How do you think I feel? All these years, the guilt's been building up and suddenly, he pops out of nowhere, alive and well. I just can't put my mind around it," Eric said, sighing.

"Why do you say that? It isn't like you were the one who killed him," Jacob said.

"That's where you're wrong," Eric said. "Harry...he was killed by me; I threw the killing curse at him. I saw him die right in front of me...or at least I thought he did."

"This must be difficult for you then. Was he a friend?" Bella asked.

"We were more friends with Alex than Harry," Ron cut in. "Harry was always very creepy; he always seemed to know everything."

"We may not have been as close with him, but that didn't make it any easier to kill him to end the war," Eric said.

"Do you think the older Riddle will come looking for his brother?" Jacob asked.

"It's very likely," Eric said. "However, we don't know where either of them are at the moment."

Eric and Ron glanced at each other. They were technically telling the truth. They didn't know where Alex or Harry was. Alex had disappeared, most likely to find Harry before anyone else could. And Alex had the advantage right now; out of everyone, he was the closest to harry and knew his younger twin brother better than anyone else.

"Well, anyways, we need to focus on finding Harrison Riddle. We can focus on finding the other brother later," Bella said. "Jacob and I can take the northern region. You two take the southern region. We'll work our way towards the middle and meet there. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good," Eric said, nodding. "We'll see you two in a few days?"

"Yep," Bella said.

Harry tugged his dark blue scarf slightly. It was currently wrapped around the bottom half of his face. His hood covered his messy hair and concealed his all too pale skin from the burning sun. Granted, he hadn't thought this out completely through, wearing a scarf in the middle of a desert, but he couldn't bring himself to part from it. However, he was already here, so he couldn't just turn back. Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long to find the other half of the bracelet.

He trudged through the sand, sweating from the hot temperatures of the desert. He shielded his eyes from the sand. The wind had picked up a little, kicking the sand up and into his face. Once it settled, Harry continued forward.

He could feel faint traces of the strange dark magic, but it still felt far away. The half of the bracelet he had in his pocket seemed to tug him in the correct direction.

The wind picked up again, this time a little more powerful. Harry felt something from behind him and turned around.

"Shit!" he growled.

A huge sandstorm was headed his way. Harry hissed angrily and gaged how far the storm was from his location...two hours...maybe less. Great. He had a maximum of two hours to find the other half of a bracelet buried in a godforsaken desert.

"This is just my day, isn't it," Harry muttered sarcastically.

He quickened his pace. The sky was darkened from the sandstorm. He could even see lightning in the distance now. He cursed again under his breath, almost running by now. He could feel the dark magic getting closer. He felt a tug and followed it. His half of the bracelet felt almost excited now, the dark magic reaching for its other half.

If he hadn't been paying attention to the dark magic and its whereabouts, he would've gone right over it. It was right underneath his feet now, buried who knows how deep into the sand. Harry glanced at the sandstorm. It was getting closer; he didn't have a lot of time to dig up the other half of the bracelet. He sank to his knees and feverishly began digging through the sand.

Sweat dripping from his face from the sweltering heat waves. He could see drops of blood dripping from his nose onto the sand from the dryness of the desert. His lips were cracked and when he licked them out of instinct, he could taste blood. The wind was growing stronger by the second as the sandstorm approached him. Harry glanced up. The sandstorm was faster than he first thought; it was almost right above him now. He dug faster in an almost violent frenzy, the combined dryness of the air and the coarse sand cutting into his skin and making the cuticles of his nails bleed.

His fingers hit something and Harry pulled it out with a burst of strength. It was a small box, layered in charms and wards. Quickly, he tore the protective magic away from the box and opened it. The other half of the bracelet laid within. Harry grabbed it and grabbed his portkey. His hands were slightly wet with blood and sweat, making him almost drop the portkey. Harry caught it and disappeared just mere seconds before the sandstorm could overwhelm him.