Disclaimer- J.K. Rowling/Warner Bros. own all things Potter. This story is in no way intended as an infringement of that copyright.

A/N- So here it is, the long awaited next chapter. My apologies for taking so long to get this written and published. I won't bore with details but sufficient to say that I had a lot of personal stuff going on that has since been resolved.

While my writing and publishing schedule has been affected, my hope is that you won't have any more waits as long as this last one for the next chapter.

Thank you for your patience while I got things sorted out- I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Chapter 17

That night the feeling in Number 4, Privet Drive was very different. No one wanted to be alone and no one really felt like talking. When Kreacher got back from dropping off Mundungus Fletcher, even he seemed to be a little different.

The first thing he did when he saw the destroyed locket lying on the table was to burst into tears; "Master Regulus, it's done. Your orders are have been carried out. Kreacher couldn't do it but now it is done..."

Not knowing what to do for him, the group left him in the kitchen to grieve. However Harry did remember to use the Basilisk fang to lift the locket off the table and to carry it outside to the back yard. Carefully he pulled up a flagstone on the back garden path and used magic to dig a deep hole. He dropped the locket into the bottom of the hole, then covered it up again with the soil he'd removed. The last thing he did was to tamp down the flagstone back on top of the hole.

When he was finished, he looked up to see the others watching him questioningly. Harry only shrugged and said, "I- er- I thought maybe it would be best if I buried it. No sense in leaving it around,"

The only response Harry received was a nod from Ginny. He realized that she more than anyone else would understand. Unlike the others, she too had once had a connection to Voldemort. Maybe now she could put that connection behind her, Harry thought.

Going back inside the house they found that Kreacher was going listlessly about making dinner. He was mumbling under his breath but since he was so dedicated about doing his task, Harry thought it best not to bother him.

No one seemed to want to talk, neither however did anyone seem to want to be alone. It was in the living room that they gathered. It had become their favorite place in the house. The kitchen held too many bad memories for Harry and there really wasn't anyplace else where they could all gather together in the same room.

He went in and sat down on the sofa only to be joined quickly by Ginny. Hermione and Ron followed too, but slowly. Looking around at everyone, Harry realized they looked as shaken up about the events surrounding the Horcrux as he felt.

Harry looked at Ginny directly and studied her face for a minute. Her eyes were large and round and there was a tremble about her that he didn't realize before. Then she sighed and the tears formed in her eyes.

Feeling very awkward and not at all sure what to do, he let her sit there and cry for a minute as he cast around for something to do, say, or whatever. Hermione's disproving glare caught his attention. There must be something he was missing that she thought he should be doing.

When her tears were joined first by a sniffle, then by a sob, Harry panicked. However when she leaned over on him and started to cry in earnest, he put his arms around her by reflex. He happened to see the glare on Hermione's face evaporate as soon as this happened. Then he realized it. Ginny needed to be held and comforted.

"Shh now, it's okay. It's over," Harry whispered to her.

He saw from the corner of his eye as Hermione took Ron by the elbow and left the room. Ginny continued to cry into Harry's chest while he held her close.

"You're alright now, It's over," Harry told her over and over.

After awhile the sobs slowed and the tears dried. She continued to remain curled up close to Harry and he continued to hold on to her.

"It...it's not over. Not yet," Ginny croaked.

"What do you mean? The Horcrux is gone," Harry said quietly.

"That one is, but there's more of them isn't there?"

The realization that he'd forgotten about those Horcruxes, at least for the moment, brought Harry up cold.

"Yes, there are," Harry started counting them off, "The diary, the ring, and now the locket are gone. We still need to find the other three. There's the cup, the diadem of Ravenclaw's, and the snake,"

"Are...they going to be like that? Like the locket was?"

Harry knew immediately what it was that Ginny was referencing; "I don't know,"

Ginny looked up at Harry again. There was deep feeling there. Love, certainly. But there was more. It made him uncomfortable to see it in her eyes of all people when he recognized the expression because it was so out of place on Ginny's face; it was awe.

"And you have to be the one to find them, don't you," It was a statement as much as it was a question.

"This is what Dumbledore wanted. With the Horcruxes gone, then Voldemort can be killed,"

"I don't know how you can do it. That was so..." The thought went unfinished.

"Ginny, look, those things that you heard in the Horcrux, you know that none of it was true, don't you?"

"I-I guess so," She mumbled.

"What do you mean, you guess so?"

"Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if Mum really wouldn't have been happier with another son, you know? I know Dad doesn't feel like he knows how to handle things with me a lot of the time, so he just leaves it to Mum,"

"Your family loves you, you know that. When everything happened in second year, they were frantic,"

"I know,"

"Then what is it?"

"I love you Harry," She said quietly, but plainly.

"I know that. I love you too,"

"Thank you, Harry. I needed to hear that. And I know that you are aware of the fact I love you. What I'm not so sure of, is whether or not you know how very, very much I love you," She sighed and Harry remained quiet for a minute.

"It's kind of funny, isn't it?"

"I don't think it's funny. I don't think it's funny at all," Harry replied with feeling.

She turned into Harry and looked up into his eyes. Harry wasn't sure what she wanted in that moment with her eyes still wet and her voice still croaky from crying the way she was.

However Ginny knew. She leaned up and touched her lips to his. At first it was as gentle as a feather's touch. Then she leaned in and kissed him again this time with a little more behind it.

Feeling very confused and unsure of things in that moment, Harry just went with the flow of things. Very soon after deciding to do this, he forgot why he was feeling confused in the first place. He very nearly forgot where he was entirely.

The next day was very different. After the wild and hectic events of the day before, everyone agreed that that needed a day off to just rest and relax. Ron even tried turning on the television but quickly turned it off again when the fast paced narrator of some commercial came on and started yelling at him with a blast of musical fanfare.

Both Harry and Hermione found this to be very humorous and even Ginny smiled though she was just as startled as her brother was.

"Bloody Hell," Ron said grumpily, "Thing's a menace. How do muggles do it?"

"They're used to it, Ron," Hermione smiled at him before breaking down in another fit of laughter.

Kreacher, whose overall mood had improved drastically since the destruction of the locket, made feasts for meals. There was nothing lacking; soups, breads, puddings, meats, cheeses, fruits, pies, tarts, vegetables, assorted drinks, cakes, and all sorts of other things put in an appearance at their meals that day.

Ron, who had always appreciated having ready access to food, even commented that it was very nearly like being at Hogwarts with the quantity and quality of what he was being served.

The elf had also changed his attitude towards them as well after he had heard about how the Horcrux was destroyed. He held Harry and Ginny in near reverence and his respect for Ron and Hermione had grown exponentially as well.

Hermione particularly was quite surprised at this given Kreacher's many years of hating Muggleborns or anyone who had anything to do with them.

"It's like there's a whole new elf in Kreacher's body," Ron commented between mouthfuls of steak and kidney pie.

"Ron, he's been through a terrible ordeal. It's bound to have left its mark on him," Hermione replied.

"Whatever it is, I'm not complaining," Ron said back.

Ginny gave Ron a dirty look; "You try having him bow and scrape every time you go near him,"

"He did that already," Ron answered.

"Yes, but not like he does now. It's annoying. I don't need anyone treating me like royalty. I liked it fine the way he was before,"

"If that's the case, then why haven't you said anything to him about it?" Hermione asked.

"Because if you do, it really hurts his feelings. I know, I tried. It took him an hour to stop crying when I asked him to tone down the constant bowing and all that," Harry said shaking his head.

"He means well," Hermione was becoming defensive, "You can't blame him for being happy that the last thing Regulus asked him to do has been done after all these years,"

"I know he does," Harry sighed in defeat, "And I get that he's happy now. I just wish...never mind," Harry looked grumpily out the window.

Ginny smiled a little and then looked out the window herself. A few minutes later, she asked; "How do you reckon things are going out there?"

"Out where?" Ron wanted to know.

"Out there, in the Wizarding World. At school and everywhere else,"

"I don't know," Harry answered, "But we still have the other Horcruxes to find and destroy, so I'm sure we'll find out soon enough,"

"The cup, the snake, and the thing of Ravenclaw's," Ron counted on his fingers.

"Her Diadem," Hermione corrected absently.

"Ravenclaw's Diadem, then. Where do you think they'll be?"

"Well, we know that You-Know-Who is seldom without his pet," Hermione answered.

"And Harry saw the Diadem at Hogwarts," Ginny added.

"And the cup is at Gringotts, but not for long. He was going to move it,"

"Do you think he has?" Ron asked.

"I don't know, Ron. I haven't seen anything since that last time,"

"Why do you think that is?" Ron asked.

"Ron! Dumbledore didn't want Harry seeing into You-Know-Who's mind. If Harry hasn't seen anything, that's a good thing!"

"Is it though?" Ron asked thoughtfully, "It is Bloody scary and all, but you have to admit, it's been right useful too,"

"How can you say that, Ron? You've seen Harry when he's seeing into You-Know-Who's mind, it hurts him!" Hermione shrieked.

Ginny and Harry sat back and watched the byplay between Ron and Hermione quietly. They both had their own feelings about it though neither one of them said anything to share them.

After hearing what Ron had said about seeing into Voldemort's mind as being useful, Harry started thinking back on it. The experience had been agonizing and horrific to be sure. But they had also learned an awful lot too.

Like the fact that there was a Horcrux at Gringotts that would be moved. Or that one of them was at Hogwarts. Or a lot of other things about how Voldemort dealt with his Death Eaters.

Harry then realized something else; he'd not seen into Voldemort's mind in some time. The last couple times had been memorable to say the least, but why would the connection stop now? Had Voldemort discovered it and cut it off?

An idea came to Harry in that moment that made his mind spin with the possibilities of it. He knew that Hermione would be livid if she even suspected it, but what if he could make his own connection into Voldemort's mind?

So far it had only happened when Voldemort was really mad. What about if Harry wanted to make it happen? Could he? What kind of information would he get? What other kinds of things would he see?

As tempting as the idea was to try out and see what would happen, Harry's enthusiasm was tempered by the effects that had come out of his previous contacts with Voldemort's mind; he'd get sick and his head would hurt. Neither of these things were something that Harry was anxious to repeat. However it was very tempting.

His thoughts were turned back to the conversation at hand when Ginny nudged him in the ribs, "Err...sorry. What was that?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and Ron just shook his head. Then Hermione patiently and patronizingly asked; "So, what do you think we should do next, Harry?"

"Find another Horcrux," He answered simply.

Ginny snorted and Ron stifled a grin. Hermione however was beginning to look very annoyed.

"Yes, I know that. To be more specific, which Horcrux do you think we should look for next?"

That was a good question, Harry thought. The snake would be with Voldemort. It went without saying that it would have to be the last one that they went after. But what about the other two? One was in Hogwarts, he knew that much. The other was in Gringotts, or was supposed to be.

"I don't know, Hermione," Harry said quietly.

"What do you mean that you don't know?"

"Last time I saw anything, they were all in places that it will be nearly impossible to get them out of,"

"We got the locket, that was in a hard place to get out of,"

"Yeah but the locket was stuck in a cave by the sea," Ron said.

"And if the other Horcruxes are still where I saw them last, then they'll be much more difficult to get," Harry added, "Unless you know of some way that we can get into Hogwarts or Gringotts without being seen,"

Hearing this last bit brought Hermione up short. She knew as well as Harry did that there was no easy answers to that question.

"Besides," Harry went on, "We don't even know if the Horcruxes are still there. Voldemort could have moved them by now,"

"Do you think he might have?" Ron asked.

"It's possible, I don't know," Harry replied feeling exasperated.

"It's too bad that we don't have a way to find out,"

"What do you mean, Ron?" Asked Ginny.

"Well, it would make it a lot easier to go after the Horcruxes if we knew where You-Know-Who moved them to, or if he moved them at all, wouldn't it?"

Hermione looked at the group and then posed a question that had been on all their minds in one way or another; "Do we try and make contact with someone?"

"Who with, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Professor Lupin maybe? Or what about Bill? Either one of them might know something," She offered.

"There's Professor McGonagall too," Ginny added thoughtfully, "She'd know what's going on,"

"But how do we get her attention? It's the middle of the school year right now. She'll be at Hogwarts and you can bet that the school will be guarded by Death Eaters," Ron said.

"Then what about Professor Lupin or Bill? We could try and contact them, couldn't we?" Ginny prompted.

Harry watched her as she argued her point. She misses having the other people around, he thought.

"Ginny," Hermione answered patiently, "We don't know where Professor Lupin lives, or even where he is now,"

"We know where Bill lives," Ginny answered back.

"Do we? Since when? He and Fleur hadn't moved in together before the wedding. Did you talk to him and not say anything?"

"No," Ginny's face fell.

"Then how do you know where he lives, Ginny?" Harry asked gently.

"I was thinking we could maybe go back to Grimmauld Place and talk to Mum and Dad. You know, to see if they've been to his house or something,"

"Ginny, we just left there. Are you wanting to go back?" Hermione asked kindly.

Nodding her head, Ginny answered; "Not to stay or anything. Just to...you know...see how they're doing,"

No one said anything for a very long time. Since they'd arrived at Number Four, Privet Drive and sent the message that they were okay, nothing else had been said. There had been no communication and for a very good reason. It was for the safety of everyone involved.

Ron looked deeply conflicted. He knew as well as anyone else the importance of not involving anyone other than themselves in the hunt for the Horcruxes. It also made perfect sense that he would want to see his family.

Harry and Hermione traded a look as they watched the two siblings look longingly out the window as if they were looking in the direction of home. Sure Harry wanted to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and know that they were okay. He just knew that it wouldn't do any good if they did.

Seeing Bill however was another matter entirely. He worked for Gringotts bank as a curse breaker. He might very well know a way into and out of the goblin owned bank that the group could possibly make use of. The question was how to contact him and do so without putting him in any danger?

The afternoon was spent going over some of the ideas he'd come up with that day, watching Ginny, and listening to Ron and Hermione as they talked back and forth about the merits of the idea of contacting someone outside their little group.

He knew that Ginny missed her family terribly. This whole ordeal was probably hardest on her, Harry thought. It was a last minute thing for her to join them in the first place, she had joined them on a split decision, and while she probably didn't want to leave the group, Harry was sure that there were some decisions that she might second guess if the opportunity came up. He asked her about it not long after dinner as they were winding things down for the evening.

"Do you regret joining us?" He asked carefully.

She gave him a suspicious look before answering, "No, not at all. Why?"

"It's just that...well...it was pretty obvious that you want to go find Bill and I know you miss your family,"

"Sure I miss my family," Ginny said, then added quietly, "I'd miss you even more if I were with them,"

"You would?" Harry asked uncertainly.

She nodded her head and then scooted closer to Harry at the kitchen counter where he stood, "Yes, I would. These past weeks, you know, being with you, it's been like nothing else,"

"I'm sure it has," Harry replied sardonically.

"I'm serious,"

"What do you mean?"

"I feel like...like we've finally gotten a chance to get to know each other. You know, outside of school and without my Mum and Dad around. We've been able to talk and I've feel like I've gotten to know the real you..."

"And?" Harry asked suddenly feeling very uncertain.

Slowly and deliberately, Ginny took Harry into her arms and smiled when he put his arms around her back. She leaned in and touched her head gently to his and said just loudly enough for him to hear; "I really like the person I've gotten to know. I like him enough to want all of this to hurry up and end so that maybe we can have time to do fun things and not be on the run all the time..."

She kissed Harry then, which he returned willingly. It was in this kind of embrace that Ron and Hermione found them when they walked into the kitchen. Ron cleared his throat loudly.

"If you two don't mind," Ron growled.

"It was a private conversation until just now," Ginny growled back.

"Do you two have to snog each other all the time? It's just...not proper!" Ron looked indignant.

Ginny snorted rudely and Ron's ears went red. Harry noticed that Hermione's ears were pink and he wondered absently if she was embarrassed at having walked him and Ginny kissing, or Ron's comment about it.

He himself was a little irritated with his best mate, so when Ginny commented that he didn't care nearly so much about being proper when it came to snogging last year, he had to suppress a snort of his own.

The only reason Harry didn't laugh was the look of pain that suddenly flashed across Hermione's features. He knew that if Ginny saw it or knew about it, she'd be mortified, however Ginny's eyes were on the floor as she brushed past her brother and friend on her way out of the kitchen.

When Hermione saw Harry looking at her, she quickly looked away. He wanted to ask her about it but now was clearly not the time.

"Did you want to talk about something, Ron?" Harry asked.

He could hear a bit of his irritation in his tone but frankly didn't care. His mind was in the other room with Ginny. At the moment he would a lot rather be kissing her and forgetting things for awhile than discussing more about all the things they had yet to do.

"Well, yeah. I did actually," Ron said with a defensive tone,

"Go on then,"

"We were wondering..." Ron began.

"...About contacting someone on the outside," Hermione finished.

"Like who? Bill?"

"Bill is one idea," Ron said looking at the floor.

"There are other members of the Order. What about trying to contact one of them?"

"Who were you thinking of?" Harry asked.

"There's Professor McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and I'm sure there's got to be more we don't know about,"

"What about the D.A.?" Ron asked.

Both Harry and Hermione looked at him in surprise. Ron's ears turned red again and he looked at both of them uncertainly, "Well, one of them is bound to know something, aren't they? There's Neville, Luna, Seamus, Dean, Cho..."

"NOT Cho," Ginny said coming back into the room.

Hermione looked at Harry knowingly and he knew that she was aware that he echoed Ginny's feelings about not contacting certain people. Like Dean Thomas for instance.

"Okay, not Cho then. But what about the rest of them? Could we try and contact one of them?"

"It's the middle of school, Ron. How would you suggest we get in contact with any of them?" Harry asked feeling more than a little frustrated.

"With this," Ron held up his hand.

Inside his hand was the enchanted fake Galleon that the D.A. had used to communicate their meetings with back in fifth year. Harry's eyes opened wide in surprise and he looked at his best mate feeling stunned.

"Ron, you're..."

"Brilliant!" Hermione beamed.

Ron's face, neck, and ears all flushed crimson as he smiled at everyone in the room. Even Ginny looked impressed as she went to stand next to Harry at the counter again.

"So, how do we do this?" She asked.

"Do what?" Ron wanted to know.

"How do we contact them? Do we arrange a meeting? Do we try and visit them?" Ginny explained.

"We should arrange a meeting somewhere," Harry said.

"Like where?" Ron asked.

"The Three Broomsticks?" Ginny suggested.

"The Hogs Head!" Said Ron.

"The Leaky Cauldron?" From Harry.

"Those are great ideas but if things are as dangerous out there as we've heard, they won't work," Hermione replied.

"Then where would you suggest?" Ron asked.

"It's obvious, isn't it? We need to meet somewhere where the Death Eaters won't think to look for us," She answered.

"And where would that be?"

"Simple, Ron. At the Burrow. It's easy enough to find the Burrow after the Prophet posted that story about how it burned down," Hermione smiled at her idea and the others looked at her dumbstruck.

"The Burrow?" Ginny looked suddenly uncomfortable.

"Well...sure. Why not?"

"Hermione, that was our home," Ron said looking a little affronted.

"I know that, and since the Death Eaters burned it down, it's vacant. That's why no one will think to look for us there!"

Even Harry, who had stayed at the Burrow plenty of times over the last six years, felt a little uncomfortable with holding a meeting at the burned out home that used to be the Burrow. He could only imagine how Ginny and Ron felt about it. Hermione however didn't seem to think that it was anything to get in a twist about.

"Er...Hermione, is there, um, anyplace else that you can think of?" Ginny asked.

"What's wrong with the Bur...oh. I understand. I'm really very sorry. I didn't stop to think how awkward it might be for you to go back there after it was burned down," Hermione looked thoroughly chagrined.

It really wasn't like Hermione to forget something like that, Harry thought. This whole business with the Horcruxes must be having more of an effect on her than she wants to let on. While Hermione was trying to think of where else they might try to set up a meeting with the other members of the DA, Harry watched her.

He could tell that she was really putting a lot of effort into trying to come up with something, anything, that would work. She seemed to be at a loss however. Finally after several moments, her face fell, "I'm sorry, I can't think of anything,"

"Let's just meet at the Burrow," Ron sighed in resignation.

Ginny simply nodded her head in agreement. She caught Harry's eye and looked pointedly at Hermione before looking back at him. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who noticed that she was acting a little differently.

"If you say so," Hermione said looking a little sheepish.

She took out her coin and prepared to give the incantation when she looked up, "We're meeting at the Burrow, but when? We don't even really know what day it is," She said.

"That's easy," Harry said going into the living room and turning on the TV.

He turned down the volume and changed through a few channels until he found one he wanted. Then he sat back to watch.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Ginny asked as she followed him into the living room.

The clarity of the picture degraded as she entered the room for a second before going back to normal. Harry smiled as he remembered that magic affected things like electricity.

"In a few minutes the news will come on. When it does, they'll give the date. Then we'll know when we can set up the meeting for," Harry replied.

"Should we go and look at it first?" Ron asked as he entered the room with Hermione just a step behind him.

The picture again went fuzzy for a couple second and then started to recover but this time it didn't get all the way back to a nice, clear picture. Every now and again the screen would give a strange kind of flicker, get fuzzy, then recover again.

"That's a good idea," Harry answered him.

"Do you really think anyone will be there?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Harry shrugged, "But I don't think it would be a good idea to ask the DA to go to a meeting only to find it crawling with Death Eaters,"

"You've got a point," Ron conceded.

"So when do we go and check it out?" Ron asked.

"Y-you don't have to go, Ron. I'll understand if you don't want to," Harry said quietly.

"No, I'm alright. I'm not saying I'll like it, but..."

"Should we all go?" Ginny asked.

Harry was torn. He knew that she and Hermione would want to get out and look around just as much as he did. However the last they heard, things were really bad out there. If they were caught...Harry didn't want to even think about it.

"Maybe this should be just Ron and I," Harry said.

"Or just Ginny and I," Hermione said as she stepped forward.

"Too right, Hermione. I seem to remember what happened when you lot went to look around Hogsmeade and nearly got killed," Ginny agreed.

"So you think that you and Hermione should go and have a look around, is that it?" Ron said mockingly.

Both Hermione and Ginny's eyes flashed dangerously and Harry knew that Ron had just put his foot in it. When he opened his mouth to speak, both girls turned on him and Ginny snarled, "Don't even say it!"

Harry held up his hands and closed his mouth again just as fast as he'd opened it. The TV started flickering angrily now and as it did the two girls became more and more angry. Ron looked like he suddenly regretted making his comment but Harry still felt like he could kick him.

Things had been going fine until Ron had opened his mouth, now both girls were angry. It would be awhile before they calmed down enough to want to talk. Sure enough, Hermione said icily; "Ginny, I don't about you, but I think it's time I went to bed,"

"I couldn't agree with you more, Hermione. Let's go,"

Together the two young women turned and left the room in a huff. Harry looked over at Ron and watched as his best mate shrugged guiltily, "Sorry,"

Harry could only sigh, "Come on, Ron. Let's go to bed. I don't think we're going to get anything solved here tonight,"

The two friends went upstairs to get ready for bed. As they got to the top of the stairs, the two girls could be heard behind the closed door of the bedroom they shared talking. From the sounds of the conversation, the discussion was animated. Harry was sure it had something to do with them and the subjects that had come up that night.

"Ron, you know sometimes you really ought to think before you speak," Harry grumbled.

"Me? What about you?" Ron replied back sounding irritated.

"What do you mean, me?" Harry asked feeling his temper starting to flare.

"I seem to remember you saying that it should just be you and me going to look at the Burrow first for this stupid meeting,"

"Yeah, I did. So what about it? Do you think that I want to take a chance that they go to the Burrow and get hurt?" Harry asked.

"Do you think that's what I want? I don't want to see them hurt anymore than you do,"

"If that's they way you feel about it, then why not say that instead of making it sound like they can't take care of themselves?" Harry's voice was near shouting now.

Ron's ears were bright crimson which was always a bad sign. His eyes were bright and he looked like he had a lot more that he wanted to say. Then, suddenly he exhaled in a sigh; "You're right,"

The abrupt change in demeanor took Harry off his guard. He looked both fearful and depressed. He looked at Harry and asked suddenly; "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Harry's mind was reeling, Ron was starting to look quite upset now.

"Girls,"

"What do you mean, 'girls?'"

"You snogged Cho Chang. You snog Ginny all the time,"

"What's your point? You snogged Lavender Brown. Quite frequently too," Harry was trying to figure out the direction of Ron's thoughts though he thought he was beginning to get the idea.

This however was the wrong thing to say. Ron went from looking angry, to upset very quickly.

Still feeling irritated over the argument they'd been having, it took Harry a moment to calm down enough to ask, "Hermione?"

Ron looked at Harry for a long, quiet moment before nodding his head slightly.

"You haven't kissed her yet," Again Ron nodded his head slightly then looked out the window.

Harry shut off the lights and got into his bed. He could see by the light of the moon coming in through the window as it shined with a grey blue light on the floor and reflected a little off their faces. Ron's eyes in that light looked almost eerie.

"I see you and Ginny and I know that you're both happy," Ron said quietly.

"Yeah,"

"And I want that too, but, you know, with Hermione,"

"I know that," Harry said.

"You do?"

"It's not hard to figure out. You've said before that you like her. How come you haven't...you know, tried to..."

Ron said something under his breath.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I said, I'm not sure how to go about it," Ron's voice was so quiet that Harry barely heard it.

"But...you kissed Lavender, didn't you? What's the difference?" Harry was a little confused.

"It's not that I don't know how to kiss her," Ron clarified, "It's that I'm not sure how to let her that I'd, y-you know, like to,"

Harry realized he should have seen this coming. He and Ginny didn't make much of a secret of it when they took some time for themselves. It only made sense that sooner or later Ron would want to try and move things forward with Hermione. The problem was, he couldn't really remember who kissed who with either Cho or Ginny. Both times it just kind of happened. That wasn't going to help Ron much however.

Taking a deep breath, Harry thought about things for a moment before saying;

"Ron, if you want to kiss Hermione, ask her,"

He snorted derisively, "That would go over well, wouldn't it? Hey Hermione, I fancy you, can I have a kiss? I don't see her liking that much,"

"Not when you do it like that,"

"So how would you do it then?"

"With Ginny it just kind of happened,"

"I know, I was there," Ron answered evenly.

"What I mean is, it's not like we planned it. I came into the room and the team had just won the Quidditch match but I wasn't there for it. So when it happened, it was completely not something I expected,"

"But it still happened," Ron complained, "I would love it if something like that could happen for me with Hermione,"

"So, make it happen," Harry replied.

"How?" Ron was frustrated, it could be heard in his voice.

"I don't know, Ron. They're bound to go out to the Burrow, maybe when they get back? Just tell her you're happy to see her and see what happens..."

"Do you think it will work?"

"I don't know, maybe," Harry sighed; he fervently hoped that this would put an end to the conversation.

Nothing more was said for a long time. Harry was lying in bed with his hands behind his head letting his mind wander. Every now and again he'd see a shadow pass in the light from the window as the night wore on.

Ginny and Hermione were going to go and look at the Burrow to see if it would be a safe place to meet with the DA. They needed to find out what was going on in the world outside. More, they needed to know how bad things were and how dangerous it would be to contact Bill and see how they could get into Gringotts.

Of course if there were some other way to find out if the Horcrux was still there, that would make things much easier. If they knew it was there, then they could maybe plan a way to get into Gringotts and get it out.

The thing was all of the best information they'd received since the wedding had come from the times when Harry was seeing through the eyes of Voldemort and that was something he'd not done in a while. He was curious as to why. That curiosity led his mind towards the next thought, what if he could do it? What if he could find a way to see into Voldemort's mind when he wanted to instead of when he was just angry.

How would he do it though? Every time it happened before, it had just happened. Harry hadn't done anything to cause it. He spent the next couple minutes thinking about the times he'd seen into Voldemort's mind before. It had been very painful but besides that, what did it feel like? Could he make it happen again?

"It would feel really nice I bet," Ron said quietly from out of nowhere.

"No it wouldn't," Harry answered automatically.

He had forgotten for a moment what it was that he and Ron had been talking about just a short time before.

"What?" Ron's voice was loud and startled Harry.

"Er, Sorry Ron," Harry backpedaled quickly, "I was thinking about something else,"

"What were you thinking about?" Ron asked grumpily.

"Er...never mind that. You were saying?" Harry winced at the false sense of interest he heard in his voice.

Ron must have heard it too because he grumbled under his breath before saying quietly, "I bet it would feel really nice...you know...to kiss her,"

The last part was said so quietly Harry wasn't sure he heard it at all. He didn't know what to say. Next to Ron, Hermione was his oldest and closest friend. That was it though. They were just friends. Harry had never had any interest in being any more than that with her and he was certain she felt the same way. So the thought of kissing her had never entered his mind.

He couldn't even think of anything to compare it to because the only person he had kissed, really kissed, was Ginny. He really didn't think that Ron wanted to hear anything about that and Harry certainly wasn't going to tell him.

"I don't know, Ron. I've never thought about it," Harry said carefully.

Ron mumbled something in response but before he could answer, the soft sounds of light snores came from the next bed. Harry had taken so long in thinking about how to answer Ron that his best mate had fallen asleep. He was grateful for that. At least it would end the conversation about Ron kissing Hermione.

As Harry closed his eyes to try and go to sleep himself, he let his mind wander back to the thoughts of how he might try and see into Voldemort's mind. He had to admit that the idea had it's merits; not that anyone else would see them. But if he could just see into what Voldemort's thoughts were, then he could maybe tell where the other Horcruxes were and then they could set out to do something about them.

Like other times when he had started drifting off to sleep, his mind kept working and before long he had a sense like he was flying over the English countryside. It was dark and gloomy over the hills and moors. There were forests shrouded in foggy mists and the air had a dank, wet feel to it.

As he flew over the countryside in his mind's eye, he came to a great estate. It was surrounded by hedgerows and a stone wall that was secured by a wrought iron gate. White peacocks strutted around the grounds and on top of the hedgerows.

Harry flew through the Hedgerows and the grounds and into a large manor house. Once inside the house with large, spacious rooms and ornate decorations on the walls and floors, sparse furnishings and a very cold, formal feel, Harry felt that he was coming to something important.

There was a sense of foreboding as he swept through the house and towards a large, black door that was set near the corner of a back room. He could see the tail of a large serpent disappearing through the door.

As Harry came to the door he was fully prepared to burst through it like the ghosts at school went through the walls and floors. So it was with a great sense of shock that he came to a sudden and abrupt halt. He couldn't move through the door.

He started to wonder what was going on. Then he felt that he couldn't turn. The door in front of him ceased to exist. Now he was in a void. A black, soundless, void where his senses of sight, hearing, touch, and smell were useless.

Not knowing what was going on, Harry started trying to get out of the void. He struggled and did everything he could to escape. As his efforts continued to become more and more urgent, he started to wonder; what if he never got out.

Starting to panic now, Harry did everything he could think of. He tried casting spells with his mind. He tried back tracking through the darkness. He tried shouting for help. When nothing worked, and with all of his efforts to escape the void failed, Harry really panicked. The last thing he did before blacking out totally was scream. The only thing was, who was there to hear him?