I do not own Harry Potter.

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Harry could only stare when he saw Dumbledore's body. Obviously it smelled from being left outside for days, but decay had not yet set in. In fact, if it had not been for the awkward angles that Dumbledore's limbs lay at, Harry would have thought that the headmaster had simply fallen asleep during an afternoon stroll. Harry had been unrealistically hoping that Dumbledore would still be alive; that somehow, the old man had survived the killing curse and saved himself from the fall from the Astronomy Tower. But the proof of the man's death lay in front of Harry; horrifying yet undeniable.

Harry wondered, why had he survived the killing curse as a helpless baby, and had become famous for it, when he had done nothing? His survival had nothing to do with his own power or skill and yet here he was. Useless.

But Dumbledore had been the greatest wizard of the age, perhaps of all time. His power had been immeasurable; his knowledge unsurpassable. His wisdom abundant; his kindness and caring unforgettable. He had been Voldemort's greatest enemy, the only wizard that the dark lord had ever feared. So why had this great man been murdered? And by a simple spy, not even Voldemort himself?

Voices snapped Harry out of his reverie. His friends and McGonagall were coming around the castle, calling his name. Silly, he thought. It isn't as if I can answer them anymore.

Realizing that his time was short, Harry stooped and removed Slytherin's locket from around Dumbledore's neck, then tucked the horcrux into his pocket. He was just in time to hide the thing; at that moment the others came around the corner of the castle.

They paused for a moment, realizing what they were seeing. Then all of them rushed forward to Harry and Dumbledore's body.

Hermione clasped a hand over her mouth, and Harry heard a choked sob escape her mouth. She had tears leaking from the corners of her eyes; she couldn't tear them away from Dumbledore's body. The rest of the group simply stared in horror.

"Albus..." McGonagall whispered. "Pomona, Fillius...we'd better get him inside." McGonagall tore her eyes away from the body and turned to Harry. Her voice returned to its crisp, commanding tone.

"You have gotten what you wanted, I presume, Mr. Potter?" Harry nodded, his hand moving slightly towards his pocket. Then he turned to Hermione, who was still silently weeping, and hesitantly placed his arm over her shoulders. She let out an audible sob and turned to bury her head in his chest.

Harry was now dumbfounded. What should he do?

He looked to Ron, who was still staring at Dumbledore. He would be no help.

Harry cautiously wrapped Hermione in his arms and held her against him. Even though it felt strange, Harry also thought it was strangely pleasant. It would be even nicer if Hermione was happy instead of sobbing.

McGonagall and the other heads of houses had levitated Dumbledore and were now directing his body towards the front of the castle. While this was going on, Ron had noticed Harry and Hermione and had shifted his stare from Dumbledore to his two friends. He looked Harry in the eyes, looking as dumbfounded as Harry felt.

"How did that happen?" Ron asked. Harry widened his eyes and shook his head slightly. I don't really know, he hoped his expression said.

Hermione eventually pulled herself together and moved away from Harry, wiping her eyes.

"What was all that about?" Ron asked. Hermione shook her head, a blush on her cheeks, and Harry shrugged.

They were silent for a few seconds.

"What is it Harry? Your 'secret'?" Hermione finally asked. Harry pulled the locket out of his pocket, and Hermione and Ron crowded 'round.

"A locket? What is so special about that?" Ron asked.

"It isn't just any locket, Ron. Look at that crest, seemingly inside the crystal. It is the seal of Salazar Slytherin, Ron. This locket is a precious antique. But...why is it so secret, Harry? Why did Dumbledore want to get it, and bring you along?" Hermione said. Harry just shook his head and made a writing motion with a hand. Paper.

"Does it open?" Ron asked, suddenly a lot more interested. Harry fiddled with the catch on the side of the locket until it popped open. Harry had expected it to be empty, but a slip of folded parchment fell out. He frowned, picked the parchment up and unfolded it.

Suddenly he crumpled the paper up and threw it to the ground, burying his head in a hand. Dumbledore had died because of his determination to find this, a supposed horcrux. Harry had become mute in the aftermath. And now he found out that it was a fake. All the suffering had been caused for nothing.

Hermione wordlessly picked up the crumpled scrap of parchment and smoothed it out.

"Who is 'R.A.B,' Harry? Do you know?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head, and then pointed to the castle. He needed to explain everything to his friends, but he couldn't do it without writing materials. He really did need to learn sign language.

He led the way to the entrance hall. No one was around; McGonagall must have placed a disillusionment charm on Dumbledore's body so that no one panicked. There was bound to be a meeting called in the Great Hall soon, however. The students would be told that the headmaster was dead, Snape had been a traitor, and Draco Malfoy was a death eater. There would probably also be an official announcement that Harry was now mute, even though word must have spread around the castle by now. Harry couldn't imagine Lavender Brown or Parvati Patil keeping such unbelievable news to themselves. He would probably be set upon by slytherins at any moment, all of them taunting him because he couldn't taunt back. Harry closed his eyes as another wave of sudden depression hit him. Why had it happened? Why?

They went to the gryffindor Common room, and Ron spoke the password, "unity." Another thing Harry was now unable to do. Enter his own dormitory.

Everyone stared at Harry as he made his way, with Ron and Hermione, over to their favorite corner table. Hermione dashed up to her dorm to get some parchment and a quill with ink for Harry, while Harry chose a chair cloaked in the most shadow. Ron sat across from him, blocking him from the view of a lot of their housemates. Harry nodded his thanks, and then yawned, soundlessly. He was tired, emotionally and mentally. Physically, he felt alright, though his throat was sore and raw. After he wrote down the information about the horcruxes, he was going to go to bed. He needed to escape into unconsciousness, because while he was in his dreams he could pretend that tomorrow morning he would wake up and the pain in his throat would be gone, and he could yawn loudly, and moan and groan about homework all he wanted.

Hermione came back down and put her supplies on the table. She and Ron both came next to Harry and watched as he wrote about the horcruxes, how Dumbledore had destroyed one but in the process lost the use of his arm, how the two of them had gone to retrieve Slytherin's locket, how Dumbledore had drunk the liquid in the basin resulting in his weakness, and finally, how they had arrived at the Astronomy tower. He finished by writing, "And I've already explained what happened next."

"Wow." Was all Hermione said.

"So that is how You-Know-Who stayed alive? Parts of his soul were floating around without a body?" Ron said.

"Ron, don't be silly, they weren't floating; they were anchored to objects." Hermione pointed out, ever the perfectionist.

"So, why did Dumbledore tell you all this?" Ron asked.

"He must have somehow known that he was about to die, because he told me that I needed to find all of the horcruxes and destroy them. Only then can Voldemort be killed."

"So this is why you aren't coming back for seventh year. Dumbledore died and left you with a mission." Hermione stated.

Harry nodded, thinking about it all. Dumbledore had indeed died and left a disabled Harry with the burden of destroying Voldemort. Of course, Harry had not been mute at the moment Dumbledore died, nor had Dumbledore known that Harry would be hit with Bellatrix's curse. But Harry still felt like Dumbledore had cheated him, in a way.

I need to do some research on horcruxes before I leave. That is why I am not leaving immediately, and I will attend Dumbledore's funeral. But after that I am leaving. You two shouldn't come back, either. Without Dumbledore here, Voldemort will attempt to take Hogwarts.

"Good point Harry, but surely you know that we are going to come with you? We'd never let you do this by yourself." Hermione said. Harry scowled in response and shook his head vehemently. He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, his housemates watching the exchange. But right now, he didn't really care. Hermione and Ron couldn't come with him. His mission was dangerous; he couldn't put them in danger.

But Hermione seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

"Harry, whether you like it or not, we are coming with you. We wouldn't let you do something like this on your own, and besides, you need our help. You can''t stop us."

"She's right, mate. You're not doing this on your own. You tried this in fifth year and it didn't work. It won't work now, either."

Harry felt a twinge of worry for his friends, but the emotion he felt most prominently was happiness. His friends wouldn't abandon him, and he wasn't alone.

Suddenly, the future didn't seem so forbidding.