CHAPTER 2: A Doe and The Sword of Gryffindor
12.15am, earlier that night.
Harry Potter quickly slipped back into the tent and went over to a sleeping Hermione Granger. Shaking her gently he whispered to her,
"Hermione!...Hermione!...Wake up…Hermione…!"
That young woman woke up pretty much instantly and wide awake, as both her and Harry were prone to do over the last few months since being on the run.
"Harry, stop nudging me. I'm awake…..and this better be good or I'll hex you into the middle of next week. I was sound!"
"Sorry. Couldn't see you in the dark. I didn't know you'd woke up. But…well…I sense something Hermione. I don't know how but something is out there…something that is..well.. calling me..or urging me to go to it. And I think it's something good!"
Hermione frowned at him although Harry couldn't see it. She trusted her friend's instincts very highly, way beyond anyone else she knew, but it was freezing, she had just been woken from a deep sleep and she was not happy.
"You woke me up to tell me you sense something! Hmmm!. I would give you a slap Harry Potter if it wasn't for the fact that I know your senses are usually pretty good. …HuuH! Harry, your scar! Is it from your scar?...Is it Vo…HIM?"
"No Hermione. Not this time. It's…something else. Something deep…kind of inside of me. I just sense it's got something to do with…well..my mum!"
"Your mum! Harry, that's impossible! It can't be from her. Your mum…..she's…"
"I know,she's dead. But that's how it feels, Hermione. It's weird, I know, but it's not exactly the first time I have had feelings..or some sort of gut instinct where I sense my parents is it. Trust me Hermione. It is real! Please trust me. Some of the stuff I have done before, where you have got the hump because I have not told you or taken you or Ron with me. It's been like this! Something just…just…well tells me..I can't explain it. Not the scar reacting Hermione, something else. And that 'something else' has never been wrong, no matter what it is, not just 'mum and dad' feelings. Please Hermione! I need you to come with me, now."
"To where Harry? Where are we going?"
"Out there, into the woods. But I sense it's not far Hermione. Somewhere close by. I was just going to go and have a look on my own and leave you sleeping but.."
"YOU are going nowhere on your own, Harry Potter! Nowhere, you hear me? No matter what, you fetch me. Sleeping or not. It is just the two of us now and we go as a two. But if this turns out to be trouble again then you will get that slap!"
"Yes ma'am, Sir!" And he laughed quietly, smiling through the darkness. "Ouwhh! That hurt!"
"And that one is for being cheeky, Harry Potter!" Then grabbing his free hand said
"Now, let's go!"
As they went further away from the clearing and their tent, the trees and brush became more dense, casting even a greater gloom into the darkness around them, it seemed.
"Harry" whispered Harmione. "We must have gone a couple of hundred yards and we haven't seen or heard anything. How much further?"
"I don't know, Hermione. But that sense, that feeling I've got. It's still there. Even stronger. I just know that…."
"Harry! Over there, to the right. There's a light coming towards us."
"I see it!"
As they watched the light approach, it got brighter and it's form clearer, until it could be seen as a patronus form of a doe, not as large as Harry's 'stag' patronus, but if anything, more clearly defined.
"Hermione. This feeling!...The light is…kind of calling to me. This is it! And my mum's patronus… it was a doe, just like my dad's was a stag! It IS from my mum, Hermione. It's got to be! I think…I think we should follow it Hermione."
"Yes…yes…I think that too! This means something. I know it does. …Your senses are still good Harry. I just hope that this time their 'good' good instead of trouble! Let's go, let's follow."
"Hermione. Here, take your wand. I know you say my magic is stronger than yours at defensive spells and stuff, but the wand is yours and it works better for you than me. I..I would rather you had it…just in case. I need to know you can defend yourself. I will trust my senses and what bits of wandless magic that I can do."
"But Harry.."
"No 'buts' this time Harmione….here." And pulling her hand to him, placed the wand into it and closed her fingers around it.
"You may be the 'greatest witch of your age', Hermione Granger, but you need that wand to prove it. Now, just watch my back!"
"Always Harry….and Harry?" as she pulled him closer to her.
"What?"
"Don't go charging off into something without me. I need you Harry Potter!" and kissed him, full on the lips, and what was going to be a quick peck lingered for an extra second or two.
"That's for luck, Harry. Good luck. Now..no comments. Just let's see what this doe is about." And Hermione was glad for the darkness, for once, as a slight blush and a small smile graced her face.
A stationary, stunned Harry had no choice but to go with the pull of her hand as she walked in front of him.
"Harry, the doe. It's stopped. But what is that it's standing on?"
"I can't see it clearly, but it seems different from the ground we are on. Light up your wand, Hermione."
"Lumos!" and a couple of seconds later "Harry, it's ice. It's a frozen pond!... Why has it stopped there? What can it mean?"
As both of them puzzled over the glimmering, silver doe's behaviour, they saw it dip its head towards the ice and paw at the surface.
"Hermione! Look. It seems to be indicating that we have to look…there must be something in there!"
Harry let Hermione's hand go and started to walk out onto the pond, testing the ice's strength a step at a time.
"Be careful, Harry. If it creaks or anything, stop and come back. It might not be solid enough."
"I'm being careful Hermione. I'm trying to learn the lessons from my mistakes…don't go headlong into anything without checking it out first….I don't want another Ministry fiasco!" And slowly but surely Harry edged 15' out onto the ice, it in turn supporting his weight. Bending down, Harry brushed the snow off of the ice, peered down through it as best he could. At that, the silvery doe bowed it's head and faded away.
"Hermione, I am still getting this feeling stronger than ever and the doe has gone. There seems to be something at the bottom of the pond, something with a bit of colour to it and that is where this call to me is coming from. Not the doe. Do you know a spell that can make the ice like clear like a window so I can have a better look?"
"I think so Harry, but I haven't used it. I hope it's right. 'Patet glacies fenestra!"
And at that the ice appeared like a sheet of clear window glass revealing what looked like a sword lying on the mud at the bottom of the pond.
"Hermione, it's worked, and if what's lying in the pond is what I think it is, someone had done us a big favour! Can I have your wand again, just for a minute."
Hermione threw Harry the wand but way off course out of his reach. Harry moved quickly to try and catch it with his left hand but this caused him to hurriedly move his feet, landing in a new position further into the pond and his feet coming down with more force than was desired on the thinner ice.
CRAAAAACCCKKK! A whole 6' section of ice collapsed under Harry, dropping him into the water and the wand fell onto the intact ice surface.
"HAAARRRRYYYY"! screamed Hermione.
The plunge a couple of feet down into freezing water hit Harry with a shock, momentarily putting a pause on any thinking powers.
'SHIT!...'
And then he surfaced, shouting to Hermione
"I'm all right…I'm all right….I'm going after the sword Hermione. It's the Sword of Gryffindor, I'm sure of it. Back in a minute."
He grabbed a good breath of air and ducked down, heading for the bottom of the pond. But as he grabbed the glistening, bejewelled Sword, suddenly he was hit by an acute, sharp pain in his head and neck, and strangulation. His scar and the locket had reacted violently to the Sword, trying to pull away from it as if sensing the danger that it's ancient magic was to the traces of Voldemort that were in both. Harry, desperate to retain his one-handed grip on the sword, was trying to pull the locket and chain from his neck with the other, the crippling pain in his head preventing him thinking clearly. His body reacted on the pure, basic instinct it was born with, preserve life. He kicked hard for the surface some 12' above him, the weight of the sword slowing him down. He knew from his conscious state that he had little air left in him, and then that air too was gone. He was not going to make the surface!
As he began to drift, he suddenly felt arms go around him and someone was propelling them upwards. As his head broke the surface he had just enough consciousness left to gulp a breath of cold, sweet fresh air, then he threw the Sword towards the bank, then he blacked out.
"HARRY! Breath Harry, oh please Harry, breath. Don't leave me Harry. Don't you dare leave me."
And Hermione was swimming one handed towards the shore through the freezing channel that she had broken through the ice, dragging Harry with her. She reached close enough to the edge where the pond shallowed, she stood up and began dragging Harry with her out of the water onto solid ground. Only a couple of feet from that water, Hermione lay Harry down and trying to pump his chest, screamed at him, in tears.
"Harry, breath Harry, oh please breath. You're safe Harry. I got you on land….Harry, please wake up, wake up…..I love you Harry, you can't leave me alone….you have got to hear me Harry…HARRY JAMES POTTER, YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME ALONE, NOW FUCKING BREATH YOU BASTARD! BREATH!" Then she hit him hard on the chest.
A cough, then another, then a third and then a throw-up of water came out of Harry, then a big gulp of air as Harry sucked in and welcomed the oxygen his body needed. Short gasps followed, then a longer intake of air, then his eyelids fluttered and opened. As he tried to focus, impossible as his glasses were somewhere under the water, he let out a loud groan-part-scream.
"AAAGGHHH!"..
"Harry, your safe on the shore, what's wrong?" asked a very concerned Hermione.
"MY HEAD, MY HEAD! PAIN, SO MUCH PAIN. AND ROUND MY NECK AND CHEST.!"
Hermione immediately guessed that at least part of Harry's discomfort must somehow be due to the locket around his neck and the Sword of Gryffindor. She quickly reached round his neck, undid the chain and threw it near the, for now, discarded sword a few feet away.
"AAAAAGGHH! Hermione. Not good, not good. My head still splitting. It's the Horcrux in the locket. It must be. It's not liking the Sword being here. It's….it's….affecting my scar somehow."
Harry struggled to his feet, Hermione assisting him to stand. He made a move for the Sword but as he reached out to grab it, the searing pain shot through his head again and he once more fell to the ground.
"AAAAGGGGHHHH!", his scream even louder this time. "The pain Hermione. I can't take this pain. I can't wield the Sword! My scar, the pain is right behind it then through my head. Whatever's in there….won't let me t….Hermione, you will have to kill the Horcrux. The Sword…it has to be destroyed with the Sword!"
The shock of what she had to do sent her wide-eyed and stuttering a reply.
"ME? N….no Ha..Harry. No. I..I..thought it had to be you. You have to ki…..kill the Horcrux. It must be you!"
"I can't Hermione…I can't!...aagghh!... I have a connection with the Horcrux in the locket. You will have to do it. Pick up the Sword, Hermione! Please!...You have to use the Sword…hit the Horcrux….kill it!"
Harry was writhing on the ground, groaning through all the conversation. Considering how much pain Harry had endured in the past and got through it, Hermione knew that he must be suffering terribly if he was struggling to endure this.
"OK Harry…OK. Just give me a few seconds. I…I…didn't expect this….I…always thought it would be you that destroyed it, that destroyed them all!"
Hermione got to her feet from Harry's side and turned towards the locket and the Sword of Gryffindor lying on the ground only a couple of feet away and only a couple of feet apart from each other. Both were glowing with an ethereal light, the locket a harsh green, the Sword hilt a golden yellow amber. Hermione reached out, picked up the Sword and slid it from it' scabbard. The amber light brightened, now covering the whole sword. At the removal of the scabbard, the locket's green light became eye-searingly painful to look at. Then Hermione jumped out of her skin as an ear-splitting scream came from behind her.
"AAAAEEEEEEEEAAGH! Hermione, the pain….my head! Please Hermione…please…hurry."
The scream and plea from her closest companion and friend set her mind straight. Two-handed, Hermione lifted the Sword above her head, steadied herself and then swung the blade down onto the locket with all her strength.
As the enchanted blade bit into the locket smashing it open, Hermione was thrown backwards some 8' from it and a scream more like fury than of pain, came from the locket followed by a spectral cloud of writhing black and grey smoke. As Hermione watched, she saw this cloud make shapes in the air, shapes that slowly formed into a figure, then two, then three figures. She recognised these shapes as Harry and then her parents. They seemed to be lying motionless, spectral Harry apart from her spectral parents who were together. Then a voice, sibilant and hissing, spoke to her.
"You..you, the witch who dares to challenge me, Lord Voldemort! You see the bodies of your three most beloved. They will die, Mudblood, die! And you will see them lie before you, knowing that you were responsible for their deaths. No matter what you do Potter WILL DIE by my hand, but join me..join me now, let me inhabit your soul, your body, and you can save your parents. I will let them live. Let part of me live on in YOU!"
A shocked and frightened Hermione was crawling backwards away from the spectral Voldemort, from his Horcrux, when she abruptly came to a stop against Harry. He in turn grabbed her arm, causing her to look round at him. He looked ghastly, pain etched in his face and eyes, the skin on his head drawn back so tight to be skull like, resembling an only slightly more human version of Voldemort himself. His voice was a pain-filled, croaking whisper.
"Hermione…it's not finished..he…he wants to use you as his new Horcrux…to put his warped soul in you. I realise it now…..that is what is in me. My scar…he left a bit of himself behind in me when he tried to kill me….take the sword again Hermione. It will protect you. Take it and hit the locket again. The Horcrux has to be utterly destroyed. Do it Hermione…now!"
Somehow, the grasp of Harry's hand on her arm steadied her, the plea from his pain wracked face and voice galvanising her into action. Voldemort was not going to make her Harry suffer any more! Lunging forward on her knees she once more grabbed the Sword of Gryffindor lying only feet away, lurched to her feet and walked the few paces over to the locket, swung the sword hard and this time cleaved the locket in two. Instantly, a high-pitched, ear-hurting scream was heard, the eerie, smokie cloud thinned and quickly disappeared, then she heard a groan from behind her then all was silent. Hermione looked down at the smashed locket and then around behind her to Harry. He was lying motionless on his side, making no noise.
