Chapter 15 - Mutual Progress

Despite the obvious empty look of the camp since Harry had packed everything up, Hermione didn't expect the feeling of how forlorn it was. Part of the reason for that was obviously the fact that Ron hadn't returned—and, to be frank, she couldn't say whether she had honestly expected him to or not—but another reason also had to do with what she had just experienced with Malfoy—er, Draco. She couldn't name just what it was that happened, but there was no denying that she'd wanted to explore it futher, and...maybe Draco had as well?

In any case, whatever it was, she knew that she had to put it out of her mind for the time being and focus on the more important matters at hand. For instance, confiding in Harry about what she may have found out during her conversation with Draco. Once they had finally moved camp—with no words or hardly even a look to communicate how it was the definite separation from Ron hereafter—and then gotten everything into place once more, Hermione sat down with Harry at their table and began explaining.

"And so, if I'm right," she concluded, "the Sword of Gryffindor can be used to destroy horcruxes."

Harry nodded, excitement shining in his green eyes. "That's...brilliant, 'Mione! And it makes perfect sense with everything that's happened!" There was no need for him to relive what he had experienced in the Chamber of Secrets to remember that basilisk venom was one of the few things that could destroy a horcrux; and, as Hermione explained, the Sword of Gryffindor was goblin-made and had the special ability to absorb "only that which makes it stronger". As such, it thus became the perfect tool to use in the event that obtaining basilisk venom directly wasn't an option—and that had been something that they'd had to discard earlier on, of course, since going back to Hogwarts now was out of the question. If they could just get hold of the sword though, then everything about what they had to do would be a lot easier...

As for how to obtain the sword, of course, that was a big problem. Dumbledore's attempt to will it to them had of course been overruled by the ministry, as the sword was not his personal possession to hand out as he pleased. As far as either of them knew, the sword itself was also still in Hogwarts, and since it was likely in the office of the headmaster himself—Snape—getting it would be harder than getting into the Chamber of Secrets and confronting the basilisk all over again.

"It's still something to know that we can use it though," Harry insisted, just when Hermione was starting to have doubts and reflect that maybe this wasn't as big a breakthrough as she would've liked. "Even if we can't get to the sword now, at least we can start making plans around it. Look, we've already agreed that at least one of the horcruxes has got to be at Hogwarts, right? Well, if the sword's there too, then at least two of the items we need are in the same location and we'll know what to look for when we do go back."

Hermione nodded, trying to see the bright side of the situation as well. "You're right, Harry. Until then, we should focus on what other horcruxes there might possibly be outside of Hogwarts, and collect those first. It's just a matter of finding out where they might be..."

Harry gave a firm nod as well, although of course this was territory that they had covered before. Talking over what they already knew yet again was something that Ron had detested, finding it unnecessary, but since he wasn't around to speak out against it, they did so freely now.

"So far, we know of three definite horcruxes," Hermione began. "The diary and the ring, which have been destroyed, and now the locket."

Harry nodded to show he was on board, but, as always, Hermione took the lead.

"Instead of trying to connect those based on what items they are, let's figure out the pattern of where they were hidden," she went on. "The ring was Marvolo Gaunt's, and Dumbledore found it in the Gaunt family home, right?"

Harry nodded. "And the locket, for all that we found it at the ministry, was supposed to be in the cave where Dumbledore and I went to look."

Hermione gave it a thought. "Okay, so far we've got remote locations as a sort of pattern, and both probably have to do with You-Know-Who's past."

"But the diary breaks that pattern," Harry pointed out. "After all, it was in Lucius Malfoy's possession before he handed it off to Ginny."

Hermione pricked up at the mention of Draco's father, but didn't automatically associate the "like father like son" connection that she'd used to; instead, she put Lucius Malfoy in almost a separate category altogether, more or less detaching Draco from her perception of the family and their death eater roots.

"Right, but so far we're not sure if that's maybe not just a unique case. Actually, I've been giving this some thought and you know You-Know-Who better than I do, so maybe you'll confirm things for me: how much do you think he trusts his followers?"

Harry didn't like putting himself in Voldemort's position, of course, but this time he had no trouble answering right away. "Not at all."

Hermione nodded. "Exactly, and so it stands to reason that none of them would know about the horcruxes, right?"

Harry furrowed his brow. "But didn't Lucius hand the book over to Ginny because he knew exactly what it was capable of?" After all, it had practically been an indirect attempt to murder him back in second year...

Hermione nodded. "Yes, but that doesn't mean that he knew it was a horcrux precisely, right? Maybe just that it was a remnant of You-Know-Who's past, something that his magic lingered in. To make the connection to horcruxes isn't something every wizard would think of."

"So...okay, let's assume his followers don't know about the horcruxes—where does that leave us?"

Hermione pursed her lips. He had a good point there and...as usual it seemed to leave them at a dead end. Backtracking a little, she struggled to think outside of the box, something that was not obvious and that might even be unconventional. Of course this was hard for her usual by-the-book method of thinking, but—

Wait a minute! What if—?!

At just that moment, Draco's face flashed through Hermione's mind—specifically, how frustrated he had looked when she asked him about the list, much like how Harry was staring hard in concentration now. In a way, perhaps the list was a dead end for Draco as well because he didn't know why he was looking for the items that he was looking for, and yet...

"What if You-Know-Who nevertheless entrusted one of his horcruxes to his followers even if they don't know what they are?" she suggested.

Harry stared at her in abject confusion, but Hermione, growing excited at the momentum of her idea, pressed ahead regardless.

"Don't you see how it makes sense? He'd be entrusting an item for someone else to protect, someone with resources that he himself may not have after being almost dead for sixteen years, and yet there would be no risk to him because they wouldn't know that it's a horcrux! They would just think it's a valuable item that he wants for them to keep for him, and of course no one would have the courage to refuse or question him about it!"

Harry took in the information and then shook his head in mock disbelief. "Mione, you're—"

"But wait, there's something else!" Hermione insisted, feeling the idea bubbling up inside her almost to the point of certainty. "You-Know-Who wouldn't choose just anyone to hand off a horcrux to, regardless of whether or not they knew what it was. We've already established that he trusts no one, but, if there was one person who he had to entrust with something important, that person would be—"

"—Bellatrix Lestrange," Harry finished for her, catching on.

And, just like that, finally they had something like an answer, a lead. It wasn't certain and of course at this point it was just a guess, but the more they thought about it, the more sense it made. Granted, of course they might be wrong and should pursue the "remote locations with connection to Voldemort's past" hypothesis, but since that yielded far more options to choose from, for the time being they decided to stick with it. In fact, thinking over more and more about what they knew about Bellatrix, from her bloodlust to her obsession with Voldemort, it definitely made sense.

But as for where Bellatrix would keep such an item, that was harder to determine.

"It'd have to be secure, since even someone that crazy wouldn't take risks," Harry muttered, his voice full of hatred and bitterness as it always was when the witch was mentioned. Part of it might be encouraged by the locket, Hermione thought, but she knew that most of it was from Harry himself after what Bellatrix had done to Sirius.

"A private place too, somewhere that's definitely not random," Hermione agreed. They discussed, of course, how it could be the Black house, but quickly discarded that idea since they would have found it already if that had been the case. The locket had already left its traces there, after all, so it was an unlikely location. The Lestrange estate had been confiscated and destroyed by the ministry back when Bellatrix and her husband had first been sent to Azkaban, so that also wasn't an option.

"The only other place I can think of might be the place where she's staying now," Harry mentioned. "Malfoy Manor."

It was no secret that the manor was now more or less Voldemort's headquarters, so it would be smart to keep a horcrux there as it was close to him as well. If so though, then it would be impossible to get at this point in time and they might as well give up that train of thought.

But while Harry was already starting to make notes on other locations and leads in connection to Voldemort's past after they had closed the discussion regarding Bellatrix, Hermione's mind was headed in...much a different direction...

Meanwhile, trying to steer clear of thinking in Hermione's direction once he was back at Hogwarts (since he knew that there would definitely be people looking for him in the middle of a Saturday and he couldn't afford to have his thoughts distracted when confronting them), Draco nearly catapulted into Pansy Parkinson once he left the Room of Requirement. Thankfully, Pansy had her nose buried in a Dark Arts textbook and hadn't seen where Draco was coming from, but was still surprised to see him regardless. As was the case with Crabbe and Goyle, Draco purposely avoided her more often than not, and of course this only left Pansy feeling confused and concerned for him. In sixth year, she had been on his case almost constantly, either praising him for joining the death eaters or absurdly curious to know what he was up to, and since then Draco hadn't exactly given her any encouragement. In the past, he had taken her to the Yule Ball and even allowed her to touch him and physically remain close to him when she pleased, but now...

Now she was avidly becoming one of them, and Draco wanted nothing to do with her.

Pansy, on the other hand, looked pleased to see Draco, and gave him a wicked and knowing smile that made her emotions all too clear. "Hello, Draco. What a surprise seeing you, when it seems like you're never around anymore. Finally catch a break?"

If he had actually caught a break, Draco thought, then he wouldn't be back at Hogwarts. Instead, he'd be back at the abbey, sitting next to Gr—Hermione and being able to see her sincere and bright smile rather than Pansy's sly one.

Idiot! Now's not the time! he chided himself. Of course this implied that there was a time to think about Hermione, but that time was when he could get a moment alone, darn it!

Staring Pansy down in a cold and aloof manner as always, Draco thought of what he could say that could get her to leave him alone, and fast. Since a direct "Shove off!" would raise suspicions though, he had to be indirect. "What I do is none of your business."

Pansy pouted, and for a horrifying moment Draco was reminded of how Aunt Bellatrix liked to pout when she was playing the innocent and pretending to be hurt. This only made him want to brush past her all the more, but Pansy stepped into his path before he could get through.

"Draco, I know you must be busy on missions for the Dark Lord and all that, but is it really necessary to forget old friends? I ran into Crabbe and Goyle in the library last night, and they said they hadn't seen you in over a week."

Damn! Crabbe and Goyle were going to the library now? Draco remembered making that excuse to them multiple times before, so it made sense that they'd think he was there, but now to actually go and check? Not only was that something he never thought those two oafs would do, but it also confirmed just how much his fellow Slytherins were interested to know what he was doing. Soon, Draco might not have a place of refuge outside the Room of Requirement at all in Hogwarts, and even that must be used sparingly lest people figure out that he was there as well. To make the connection to the Vanishing Cabinet inside and how he was constantly leaving Hogwarts though...

Calm down, nothing's happened yet, he reminded himself. Getting excited and panicky would get him nowhere, and besides which, since no one did know just exactly what he was up to, Draco still had the advantage. After all, he was Voldemort's prize death eater inside the Hogwarts student body, his godfather was the headmaster and the wizard who had killed Albus Dumbledore, and by all the accounts the Dark Lord lived in his house now, nevermind that he was away at the moment! To all onlookers, Draco was thus in one of the most superior positions there was, and no one would be able to question his authority!

No one except Hermione, of course, and she sees past all that to know you hate it, Draco thought. And speaking of which, thinking of the bright Gryffindor in contrast to the dark Slytherin standing before him now, Draco felt more than ever his need for privacy.

"Stand aside, Pansy," he said, his voice calm and measured even while his thoughts were not. "As always, I've got better places to be and better people to talk to than you."

There was no denying the look of hurt in Pansy's eyes at hearing that, but she was never one to give up easily. "Like who?" she questioned.

"Perhaps, Miss Parkinson, you had best cease with the questions and know your place," a calm baritone echoed from just down the corridor. Draco and Pansy both turned at once to see Severus Snape, who was approaching them much like a dark shadow, so close that it was a wonder they hadn't heard him approach earlier.

Pansy actually took a step back as Snape came to stand in front of them. "Headmaster, I—f-forgive me, I—"

But Snape ignored her, turning instead to Draco. "My office, Draco. Now."

Although he didn't sound pleased in the slightest and his words left no room for argument, Draco was much more relieved to follow him rather than stand around and get Pansy out of his hair. Without a look at the girl, both godfather and godson stalked up to the headmaster's office, their dual presence not going unnoticed by the rest of the students, all of whom scrambled to get out of their way. Draco felt a hurtful tug somewhere at his core with a first year girl actually whimpered in fright as he passed by, but ignored his surroundings as best he could until they reached the privacy of the office.

Once inside, Severus took a seat, silently indicating for Draco to do the same.

"What items have you found?"

Draco wasn't surprised that his godfather got right to the heart of the matter without any leeway. He was disappointed that he didn't have much to report though, as well as grimly determined to find out what it was all about. One didn't just question Severus Snape outright though, so Draco instead listed the items that he had already found and put inside the vault.

"I had to use Hagrid's key to get to the dragon whistle, which explains why it was on the list," Draco concluded, of course not going into any of the specifics of just how he found that out—or who had helped him. "That makes the list more of a puzzle, Severus." Draco paused, gathering up what limited courage he had to confront the Wizarding World's most dangerous wizard after Voldemort himself.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Severus inclined his head indifferently, studying Draco without a word. Ordinarily, Draco would have felt uncomfortable under such a gaze, close as he was to the wizard, but for once his own frustrations won out over his logical fear, and he met the stare head-on, unwavering. For a moment, there was almost a slight look of acknowledgement in Severus's eyes for his godson, but then it was gone before Draco could be sure he hadn't imagined it.

"Assuming you had come as far as to figure that out," Severus said, leaning back in his seat, "I expect that you will understand why I had to make it so."

Draco stared at him, dumbstruck. He...was expected to understand already? Bloody hell, as if he could understand Severus's motives at the best of times, nevermind when he was being overly cryptic! The only direct connection Draco had had to Severus outside of the classroom had been last year when they had confronted one another over and over again regarding the matter at hand with Draco's task—and even that had always been direct! Strange, given the content matter, but at least then Severus had made it clear that he didn't have faith in Draco's abilities! (Or so Draco had interpreted at the time.) But now all of a sudden he expected his godson to be able to figure out secrets and hidden—

Wait a minute. That was just it.

Draco blinked in realization as he looked up at Severus, this time with new eyes. For...some reason or other, Severus wanted to keep the list a secret, or at least certain items that he was setting Draco to search for and...that could only mean that he didn't want anyone else, other death eaters or even the Dark Lord himself to know what he was up to. But why? Why make things look like a mismatched item hunt on the surface, when underneath it was to hide...what?

The only reason he's doing this is so that the Dark Lord won't know, so there must be something there that would compromise things in some way, Draco thought. But what?

In answer to Severus's question though, Draco said, "Let's say I do understand why; to go further though, why is there a reason behind keeping the list secret? What is it that you don't want him to—that you don't want to be known?"

If this discussion went according to their usual pattern, then Severus would refuse to tell him. Draco, despite knowing that it was a dangerous move, would then have no choice but to insist, since he really couldn't take this blind searching much longer, and...

And just hope that his role was crucial enough to Severus that he would reveal more of the truth rather than risk Draco quitting the task altogether.

Severus Snape was not one to ever be backed into a corner, and nor did he relish his godson getting that impression; however, now that Draco was on the trail of something, Severus knew that he had to give him more to go on.

"Draco, you don't like the way things are now."

The statement was so simply made and so out of nowhere with no connection to what Draco was asking, and yet...

It was so shocking that Draco had no choice but to pay attention to it and drop his line of questioning for the moment.

"W-what? No, of course I do, Severus, I—"

Severus held up a hand for silence, which Draco instinctively obeyed after years of being a student. Seeing that the boy wasn't going to interrupt, Severus went on.

"I am loyal to only one master, Draco. These items, as you surmised, are mostly useless; but the ones that are important are questionable if they were to be found in my possession. I have no intention of being the one to seek them out, never mind to use them. But you, given your position, will be quite open to using them...shall we say, how they should be used."

There was a lot of depth and hidden meaning in that statement, so much so that Draco didn't know what to think. He certainly felt the importance of the task more than before, despite still not knowing what it was about, and even the secrecy behind it wasn't too much to bear—well, after all, in comparison to his secret meetings with Hermione, this was practically easy. But if Severus expected for him to delve deeper into that meaning, there was only so much that Draco could infer...

And the fact that Severus wasn't saying anything directly was also very telling. If he wasn't saying it, then it must be because it was an unspeakable thing to that extent. Unspeakable, but at least Draco could still think it.

Merlin...don't tell me that he's not really...

Catching himself mid-thought though, Draco decided both to dwell on it later and finish up what he had come to Severus for. Effectively ending their discussion about the list for now, Draco finally came out and asked Severus if he could get some private occlumency lessons.

"I already know a bit," Draco confessed, "but I know it's not enough. Now more than ever, because...of what you said about me..."—because, after all, if Severus said it, it meant that he was certain and it was not just a suspicion, and therefore there was no point in lying—"I need to know more."

Severus nodded, looking grimly satisfied. "There may be hope for you yet, Draco," he said. Just in what way he meant it, Draco had no idea, but...he didn't look quite as grim as usual when he did, so it must be a good thing, a good sign.

And though acknowledgement from the dark potions master didn't mean much to Draco...acknowledgement from his godfather certainly did. Assuming they were both talking about the same thing, of course, but Draco had a feeling that they were. They had all but confirmed right now that Draco no longer had any interest in the Dark Lord's cause and that this list was not work towards his ends, so...Severus understood. And he was the first person other than Hermione to do so.

Hermione.

Just the thought of her made yet another reason why practicing occlumency would be a strict necessity now. Of course, Severus might find out some things in helping Draco practice, but...if Draco was right in what he was beginning to think about his godfather, then it was better him than anyone else invading his mind to get to those images.

Just don't let me be wrong about this, Draco thought. Then, their discussion over, he turned and walked out of the headmaster's office, feeling both lighter and heavier than before.

A/N: *deep breath* Whew, this chapter was hard to write!

For one thing, horcrux talk is hard! I mean, I think we all already acknowledge the brilliance of J.K. Rowling's world-building and storytelling, but man is it hard getting the horcrux details right! Because I'm striving to include Draco a lot more in this story than he was in the original, I've decided to change a bunch of things with regards to the horcrux hunt, but at the same time it's proving a challenge figuring out different ways for Hermione and Harry to get leads and all, y'know? I will of course remain consistent to the timeline of when and where they find the horcruxes, since everything that Rowling wrote with regards to that is pure perfection, but as for the how aspect, let's just say that I'm getting creative. Hope no one minds this, by the way!

Also, with regards to Draco's portion of the chapter, I had a hard time making things between him and Snape still remain cryptic so that neither of them directly states that they're not on Voldemort's side or anything. Just to be clear, I love Rowling's original story and how Snape's true alliance was kept secret until even after his death, but...well, since I first introduced the concept of the list to Draco via Snape, I knew that keeping Snape completely secluded wasn't an option. Sooner or later, he and Draco would have to work together, however remotely, and thus confirm that neither of them is working for Voldemort so much as against him. I hope that no one minds this change though, since a part of me just rebels against the aspect of Snape being completely and utterly alone even until his death, and so I wanted at least Draco to be an ally for him in life. There will be positive aspects to this reveal though, so keep reading to find out what that is!

And, ahem, as always, please do follow, favourite, and review review review!