Hallowed
Chapter Eight: Bathilda Bagshot

A/N: Another game reference in the last chapter (This time from "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" the game). I remember a review mentioning the ill fate of Amelia Bones in the sixth book in the series. Decided to disregard that in this fic, just for the heck of it. Anyway, enjoy the next chapters.


It took them all of ten minutes to realize that it was two in the morning. The clock at the church chimed twice; its tone echoing throughout the silent Christmas morning. They were completely alone in the burial grounds , and with the final chime of the clock, both saw the light that had fallen in small golden strips from the church windows had already gone out. All that were left were the white-blue orbs of light coming from the streetlamps. Both of the graveyard's occupants had just been standing there in comfortable silence; using warming charms off and on to ward off the bitter cold.

"I had best take my leave." The sudden breaking of that silence made Harry look back to his companion. "I'll be missed within the hour."

"If I remember correctly, Christmas was a private affair except for lunch and dinner in the great hall." Harry remembered a year or so when there weren't many people at all there during the holiday. He had sat at a table for thirteen one year.

"Sadly, times have changed." Minerva muttered bitterly. "All of the students remained throughout the holidays. It wasn't for their safety, either." She added with a frown. "Severus forbade students to leave the grounds, save for a Hogsmeade trip that was made especially for the weekend."

"How did you get out, then?" Harry asked with an ebbing curiosity. "Didn't feign illness, did you?"

"One of Fred and George Weasley's more brilliant ideas." Harry definitely saw a smirk appear on the woman's lips now. "Merlin knows I confiscated enough of their brilliance while they were students; especially in your fifth year."

"Didn't use one of the Skiving Snackboxes, did you?" Harry couldn't suppress a grin at the thought.

"Luckily, there was no need." At that, Harry did laugh. "The Three Broomsticks cleared out, and I waited until nightfall; transformed and left for a safe apparition point."

"I thought you could disapparate in Hogsmeade." Harry had done so at the end of last term with Dumbledore. It had been illegal, what he did being under age, but he had gotten just outside of the popular pub with the headmaster on his arm.

"There are charms in place that alert death eaters of a sudden presence in the village now. They have made good use of the Caterwauling charm."

"I'll keep that in mind." Harry muttered; making a personal note to mention it to Hermione when he returned to the campsite.

"For your own safety, do not return to the castle." The strict tone had returned to Minerva's voice as she looked him over for any sign of defiance. "If you think it is difficult out in the open, you have no idea what is waiting for you in the grounds and castle."

"Don't worry, I don't have plans to return there any time soon." Harry said, and for the time being, he meant it. He had no need to return to Hogwarts.

"Be well Harry, and remain on alert. Our enemies are in plain sight, even if we choose to ignore them at the time."

"Always." Harry said. He watched his former teacher turn on the spot and disapparate and hoped nothing would come of her meeting him here. With a final look at his parents' grave, he pulled the invisibility cloak out of the pocket of his traveling cloak and threw it over himself. Once it was securely around him, he headed back out of the cemetery and back up the main street of the village. There were fewer and fewer houses as he made his way back to the campsite, and he could see parents placing presents around the trees in most of them. He had seen it done many times with Dudley's at the Dursleys'. Vernon would bring them in from the car on Christmas eve and place them in mounds around the artificial tree that Petunia put up every year.

"Harry, there you are!" Hermione's voice interrupted his not-so-fond Christmas memories as he crossed the threshold into the field of enchantments that he had cast earlier. She wore her Gryffindor scarf, a black traveling cloak, and a deep scarlet wool hat as she emerged from the tent. He threw off the cloak and stuffed it into his pocket just in time for her to place a mug of hot chocolate into his hands. "I've been wondering where you went. I expected you back an hour ago…"

"Sorry." Harry took a long gulp from the mug and let the chocolate fill him. "I got caught up talking with someone, and I've got something to show you."

"Who were you talking to?" She asked as she finished lacing up her boots before joining him at the edge of the enchantments. "Not a stranger, was it?"

"No, not at all." Harry grinned as he pulled the hood of his cloak tighter around his neck. "Hang on. Got to drop something off." It was only then that Hermione noticed the snow-flecked blanket that was still on his arm.

"It's beautiful." She commented as Harry unfolded the good-sized heavy blanket and used a cleaning spell to clear away any dirt or snow from it and then a warming charm before placing it on his bed. "Was it made by hand? Where did you find it?"

"I assume it was made by hand, and I found it in my parents' house." Harry answered as he refilled his cup and headed out with Hermione. "I went there first and looked around. Most of the house is still stable, but my room has a gaping hole in it." At Hermione's surprise, he went on. "Ran into someone there as well."

"Bathilda Bagshot?" It was a good guess, but he had seen nothing of the author since they had entered Godric's Hollow.

"No, McGonagall."

"What!" Hermione's surprise at hearing their former teacher had been there made harry smile. "But… Why on Earth would she be here?"

"Said she needed a reason to get out of the castle. She assumed we'd come here eventually, and said it was a lucky guess that she checked while we were here." He decided to press on to what he had found in the graveyard. "Hermione, I found that symbol again; the one in your book. It was on a headstone."

"The triangular eye one?"

"Yeah. It was on the headstone of Ignotus Peverell. Just this way." He had pulled his hood up over his head while they were walking along the main road. "I also found my parents' grave. That's where I've been most of the time." As an afterthought, Harry added: "Oh, and she knows about the horcruxes as well."

"Told you I wouldn't put that past her." Hermione smiled. She had made that comment one afternoon at Grimmauld Place before they had left. The two didn't talk again until they reached the church in the square. When walking past it, Harry indicated the cemetery and, once they had entered it, the grave of Ignotus Peverell.

"Right there." He indicated the triangular symbol carved just below Peverell's name and dates of life. While Hermione studied it, he spoke in a quieter tone. "McGonagall said she had seen that symbol but wasn't sure of what it meant either."

"Still odd… Why would it be here on a grave in Godric's Hollow and on one of the pages of the book as well…" Hermione mused as she stood up. She noticed the graves of Ariana and Kendra Dumbledore and that of Harry's parents as well. After examining each in turn, she spotted the slowly disappearing footprints that showed where Harry and the professor had been standing earlier. Turning her gaze to Harry, she posed a question. "How did that go; seeing your parents' grave, I mean?"

"It went alright." Harry said passively. "I know what he went through when he tried to kill me now. I'm glad it hurt him when he failed."

"You what?" And Harry had to explain the sensations and emotions he had experienced when touching the marble with his bare hand the first time. Hermione looked pale when he was done, but she nodded in acceptance. "Oh Harry…." She paused just as quickly as she had spoken, and Harry followed her eyes. Just at the gates of the cemetery stood a figure that was slightly hunched over. They wore a thick brown traveling cloak, and by the form, both Harry and Hermione assumed it was a woman. She carried a lantern that made her ancient face look oddly gaunt and hollow in its light. "Who is that…"

"Dunno, but I think she wants us to join her." Harry muttered as he saw the woman looking right at them.

"I don't like this, Harry…" Hermione muttered as they slowly made their way across the graveyard and toward the woman who was now starting to amble off toward a side street that Harry had been down hours before. "I really don't like this…"

"I've been down this way…" Harry read the small sign on the corner of the street. It was the one his parents' cottage was on. "This is where McGonagall met me… in the nursery of my parents' house, that is." He corrected. Harry found himself speaking in low tones, so as to keep the woman in front of them from hearing. He wasn't quite sure as to why, but he kept his voice down anyway. "I wonder if she saw us coming out of the cottage and going to the graveyard…"

"Then she follows and waits until you're almost alone…." Hermione muttered while keeping an eye on the woman who had approached a cottage that looked positively devastated by time and being uncared for. He read the name on the postbox and confirmed his thoughts.

"It's Bathilda Bagshot."

The woman stepped up onto the front stoop and went to open the door, but her hands were so stiff she could hardly grip the handle to turn it. Harry stepped forward and opened it for her, but as he did, he almost fell over. A very strong odor of old cabbage, stale air, and dung met his nose. He motioned to Hermione to indicate that she should use something to blind her sense of smell, and the two of them tapped their noses with their wands. Immediately, the smell of eucalyptus and menthol filled his nose. It was the smell of what he used to rub on his nose when he had a cold. When he entered the house, he saw the woman waiting for him in the center of what looked to be a parlor. There were photographs and other small things on the shelves, and Harry was unale to make out any of it at first.

"Lumos maxima." He produced a single orb of light that hung in the air above them all until Hermione had managed to summon several stubby candles and had lit them. Once she sent them throughout the parlor, Harry waved his wand and the orb of light fell away and went out. He spotted on e photograph that stuck out; it was of a young man, the thief that had robbed Mykew Gregorovich's shop. Addressing the woman, he spoke quietly. "Are you Bathilda Bagshot?" When he received a nod that looked more like a person going through a small fit, Harry continued. "Who is that in that photograph?" He indicated the young man he had seen robbing the wand shop. "Do you know?"

"Harry?" Hermione questioned as her eyes landed on the photograph. "Who is he?"

"He's the one I saw in Gregorovich's wand shop." Harry muttered under his breath. Bathilda Bagshot didn't answer his question; she didn't even seem to have heard him. Instead, she walked away; toward a rickety old staircase. Harry called after her, but she merely stopped and looked at him as if telling him wordlessly to follow. When he and Hermione finally did, she waited until they were at the foot of the stairs before holding her hand up to Hermione. After a moment, Harry understood. "I think she wants me to go alone." When he received that same odd nod, Harry went to follow her up the stairs.

"Harry…"

"I'll be right back." Harry said quietly. "Look around and see what you can find. Maybe she knows something but can't tell it." He had seen that behavior before with Ginny when she had tried to warn them about the chamber of secrets in her first year. As Harry went up the stairs however, he found himself thinking that that might not be the case. Still, he followed, although the smell and his sense of something being wrong were getting worse. He tapped his wand again to his nose, and was relieved when the smell of menthol vapors filled it again. He got to the top of the atairs and was looking at an attic that had been turned into a storage area for all sorts of rubbish. Addressing the woman again, he tried something different. "Mrs. Bagshot, is there something up here you wanted me to find?"

She nodded and pointed over to a darker corner of the room. He lit his wand and went to looking, but he saw nothing of real importance. There were a few long boxes that looked to have old robes hangng out of them from where the boxes had been overstuffed, and a few spindly tables. When he looked back, he saw that she had put the lantern down and was just motioning for him to keep going. He finally got into the very back of the corner and was rummaging through the boxes; hoping to feel the cool handle of Gryffindor's sword, but instead he felt fuzzy old robes, a few handbags, and what felt like a leathery substance that shredded each time he touched it. Ragged breathing behind him made him turn quickly, but what he saw made him freeze.

Bathilda Bagshot looked to be having a fit; her eyes were rolling back into her skeletal head and her hands were clawing at a place on her neck. As her grubby fingernails broke the skin, a black, almost congealed, blood spilled out and the skin tore away like paper. The breathing turned into a pained and disturbing moan, but it too dissolved into a mad hissing sound. In seconds, Harry knew why. A snake, green as poison, emerged from the now hanging wound on Bathilda's neck. It kept coming; forming massive coils, and remaining as thick as ever. Only when the last of its long body had emerged did the body fall and crumble. The blood that had been issuing from it turned into maggots.. Harry recognized this snake as it rared up and opened its great mouth; it was Nagini, Voldemort's companion.

"Hermione!" He managed to shout as the serpent lunged at him. Her fangs were bared, and there was a mad look in her beady eyes. Harry gripped his wand and made mad slashing motions at the snake with Snape's curse in mind. As he did, gashes appeared on the snake's thick skin, but it did not bleed as severely as Harry had hoped. He felt it wrapping a few coils around him to attempt keeping him still, and as he struggled to keep his wand arm free, he felt the edge of one of the snake's fangs cut into his shoulder as it lunged. He had managed to jerk out of the way, but that didn't matter. Nagini still continued to make mad lunges at him; hissing and spitting as she went, and Harry could just hear the scrambling of feet on the stairs. Hermione was on her way up.

"Bombarda!" She had shouted at the door, which Bathilda had apparently bolted when she had made sure he had his back turned. Hermione had broken down the door and was casting a frantic "Lumos Maxima" to enlighten the room. Once done, she had started sending curses wildly at the snake while it was distracted, but as she did, Nagini loosened her grip on Harry.

"Hermione, get us a way out of here!" Harry shouted as he felt himself sinking back into Voldemort's mind again. He could see land masses moving quickly below him. Some were snow-covered and others were not. He was excited; She had finally managed to trap him in that old hag's cottage. He was there and would be dead within minutes. He, Voldemort would be the one to kill Harry, but he wasn't Voldemort. He was Harry. Blinking rapidly, he finally saw the snake swim into view again just as she went to lunge at him again. Her attack missed and sent her striking some molded old robes in a box.

"HARRY!" Hermione bellowed as she used another spell to try and distract Nagini. "MOVE!"

He felt the coils loosen again, and Harry took that time to wriggle out of the snake's line of fire. He managed to pull himself back against the back wall, and when he had a steady grip on his wand, he pointed it at the window that led outside. "Confringo!" A blast erupted from his wand tip and he struggled to keep a hold on it. The wall he had aimed at exploded; sending wood and glass fragments everywhere. As dust filled the air, he felt a rush of wind. He was flying again; a sense of urgency flooded him now. She was failing. He needed to get there in time to stop the boy from escaping again. He was almost there… The outskirts of Godric's Hollow… the church…

"Harry! Come on!" Hermione's voice pierced the whistling night air, and Harry felt himself being roughly pulled into a standing position. "We've got to go!"

"Jump!" He said half aware of his surroundings or what he was saying. He could still feel that desperation. He also heard the mad hissing of the snake behind him as Hermione pulled him over the side of the attic. He did have the presence of mind to grip his wand and force himself to land on his opposite side so as not to damage it, Hermione was already pulling him back up and urging him to run when he felt the full weight of his body again, but as he rounded the street corner and moved back to the campsite, he felt his head swim again. His scar erupted with pain, and he collapsed just inside the field of enchantments.

He was sweeping through the cottage, up the stairs, and searching the room. Ragged breathing that was not his own filled his ears, and the mad spitting of the snake did as well. He could see the body of Bathilda Bagshot and the destroyed attic; Nagini coiling around his shoulders. He could hear soft hissing in his ears as well. The boy had escaped with the mudblood. He had managed to slip away again! Advancing through the attic, he kicked the remains of the old historian aside as he approached the gaping hole in the wall. He could see the rubble and the impact in the snow where the boy had fallen and managed to run…


"Harry… Harry? Harry!" A hand shook his shoulder rapidly, and he could feel something solid but soft under him. There was also something very warm and comfortable thrown over him. Opening his eyes, he saw the inside of the tent and Hermione's face peering down at him. She had a warm cloth In her hand and was going over his forehead with it. The simple action seemed to soothe the pain in his scar. "Thank goodness…" She sighed in relief as he blinked several times. "I only managed to get everything packed and hold on to you to disapparate away…

"Where…" Harry croaked as he tried to sit up. "Where are we?" He pulled himself into a sitting position and felt the pain of their struggle with the snake immediately. There were probably bruises that hadn't healed, but he did notice that his shoulder wasn't throbbing from where Nagini had bitten him.

"Forest of Dean." She replied as she straightened up. "Used to come here with my parents."

"Got away from Godric's Hollow, then?" Harry muttered as he looked through his pockets to make sure he hadn't lost anything in the struggle. Hermione saw what he was doing and directed his attention to the bedside table. His mokeskin, wand, father's knife, and mother's perfume were there. Pulling the mokeskin toward him, he opened it and emptied out the contents onto the green blanket he was covered with. The marauders' map, two way parchment, quill, horcrux, and the bottle of phoenix tears dropped out of it. "It was stupid to go there, Hermione. I'm-"

"No." Hermione said quickly as she examined the locket carefully before donning it. "I wanted to go there too. I thought maybe the sword would be there somewhere…" She stood abruptly and went to her bed; retrieving something from her traveling cloak. "It wasn't a total waste, though."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked as he replaced everything where it should be. He had to repair a few places on his traveling cloak from where it had caught in the brambles around Bathilda's cottage.

"That man you recognized… I know who he is." Hermione pushed a photo into Harry's hands and he recognized the young thief instantly. "That is Gellert Grindelwald."

"That's Grindelwald?" Harry stammered as he looked into the man's slightly impish face. "I would have thought he might have been…"

"That must have been when he was much younger." Hermione said quickly. "He was related to Bathilda Bagshot." Hermione offered at Harry's slight confused look. "That was why she had his photograph."

"So He's after Grindelwald's wand... er the wand he stole." Harry muttered.

"But why…"

"I don't know." Harry pulled his wand and other possessions back toward him and placed them back into his pockets. "How long was I out?"

"Several hours." Hermione handed him back his watch. He saw that it had been at least a day since they had gotten out of Godric's Hollow; the wee hours of the 27th of December. "How are you feeling?"

"Good enough to take watch for a bit." Harry said quietly as he moved for the tent's threshold. "Enchantments set up?"

"Did them as soon as I got here." Hermione said. "Are you sure you feel alright?"

"Yeah." Harry said as he stepped out into the crisp morning air. "I'm fine. I'm sure you've been keeping a close eye on me. Get some sleep. I'll wake you around time for breakfast." He assured her, and he went out into the snow.

There was much on his mind after the events at Godric's Hollow while he stood out against a tree. What had happened in his parents' house, the graveyard, and even in the rotting cottage of Bathilda Bagshot were reeling through his mind's eye like a broken film. Then there was Grindelwald, the predecessor to Voldemort, who had stolen a wand from Gregorovich's shop. What was so important about it? Why was he after a single wand that had been used by Grindelwald in a duel with Dumbledore… But wait, how did he even know that? Harry had a feeling that his thoughts were being contributed to by Voldemort's knowledge of the wand and its history, but he didn't know what to make of it. He spent the morning mulling things over, and as the sun rose higher in the clouds, the blue hues of the morning faded to a snowy grey. He decided then that it would be a good time to wake Hermione.

Getting back to the tent, Harry entered, sorted through their food stores, and started making toast and eggs while Hermione continued to sleep. He could see that her dreams were uneasy, and he had a feeling the horcrux was part of the problem. When he was satisfied that the toast still had a moment before it was done, he went to her bed and shook her gently. "Hermione." He said as he gave her shoulder another shake. She finally jumped and woke with a start. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." He added quickly as he went back to the toast and eggs. "Half ten in the morning. Figure I'd wake you."

"Thanks." She said as she threw off her blanket and stood up. "Ah, got breakfast cooking, do you? Did you see anything out there?"

"No." Harry answered her last question while pulling the toast off of the small fire he had conjured. "Nothing yet. Here."

"Thanks. I'll get the tea." She pulled his tea kettle from her bag and looked for her stash of teabags. "Oh sod it…" She pulled a few thick pieces of chocolate and a small jar of milk out. Pouring the milk into the kettle, she tapped it with her wand and let the kettle steam for a few minutes before opening it and dropping the chocolate in. "Maybe a change will do us good."

"Or give us Dumbledore's sweet tooth." Harry grinned as he bit into his own egg sandwich. "Either way…"

"And my parents are dentists…" Hermione laughed. She hadn't really mentioned Mr. and Mrs. Granger all that much, but when she had she had seemed rather depressed. Now at least, she was laughing.

She and Harry took turns with the horcrux and keeping watch throughout the day, but Harry was the one who said he would take the night watch. He preferred the silence, but there was the fact that he was wearing the horcrux that kept him up as well. He hated to sleep with it on, and Hermione had worn it throughout most of the day. As he sat on a stone outside the tent, he looked all over the forest area in which they hid. It was dense, snow blown, and yet most of the pathways were clearly visible through it. He was preparing to turn back to look the other way when he saw something shining nearby. It looked like a blurred white light, and as it neared him, Harry recognized it as a corporal patronus in the form of a doe. It got close enough to him so that Harry could make out what it was, and when he focused on it, the doe turned and slowly walked away; toward the thick line of trees to the east of where he had been sitting.

"Wait, come back!" Harry got up and kept a firm grip on his wand as he set out after the doe. It moved from a slow walk to a canter when he was near level with it, and Harry had to quicken his pace to keep the doe in sight. It easily led him away from the tent and the safety of the enchantments, but he didn't really care. It was odd to find a patronus out here in the middle of an empty forest; one that seemed intent on leading him somewhere. "Slow down!" He shouted as the doe continued its canter, but all it did was look back at him with a pleading look to continue following. This left him leaping over downed trees, moving past small valleys, and climbing over snow drifts to get to where the doe had finally stopped. When he reached it, the doe waited while Harry looked down on what it had led him to. It was what looked to be a watering hole that had frozen over in the winter's cold. Deep and narrow, it went down several feet.

"Lumos." Harry muttered as he aimed his wand down at the icy surface. The beam of light illuminated what appeared to be something silver and shining lying on the ground within the water. Narrowing his eyes he could just make out that it was the handle of… "The sword!" Harry exclaimed as he looked back up to the doe. It seemed to lower its beautiful head and wit that it disappeared. Harry then began removing his cloak, shirt, pants, boots, and socks until he stood there in his boxers. It would not do to have his clothes sopping wet in tis cold. He even removed the mokeskin from his neck and placed it safely within his cloak that lay folded on the snow.

"Diffindo." Harry used the severing charm to break the layer of ice and then dove into the hole. Icy water gripped him; burning as it surrounded his body. He could feel his chest tightening as he pushed himself forward, but there was something else. Something was pulling at his throat as he dove deeper into the hole. It was the horcrux; he had forgotten to take it off. The locket's chain tightened and pulled at his neck as he groped for the cold handle of the sword. His fingers were inches from its ruby-encrusted handle. As they grazed it however, he felt the chain tighten around his neck to the point where he could not breathe. Harry thrashed under the water in an attempt to claw at the chain as it cut into his neck. He could feel himself moving further from the sword, as if the locket was dragging him back up, but his foot hit solid ice. He whirled his head around so violently his neck snapped, and he saw that the ice was solid once more. Dizziness setting in, he could see small lights popping before his eyes and knew darkness was seconds behind it. Just as he felt his head drop, a rush of warmth moved past him and he could barely make out someone diving down past him for the sword.

He could see the sword being gripped tightly and the figure rising from the bottom, and within seconds, a powerful arm wrapped around him and pulled him upward as well. With a shower of orange sparks, the ice around the top shattered and allowed them enough space to get up and out of the hole easily. Harry was lifted and placed onto the snowy bank wile his companion hoisted themselves up out of the hole and laid the sword down. Coughing and sputtering, he reached blindly for his clotes only to have them thrown at him. When he managed to open his eyes again, he saw who had pulled him out.

"Ron…"

"Got to be bloody mental to dive into something like that, don't you?" Ron had managed to get out, dry himself off, and was sorting through Harry's clothes to make it easier to get them back on.

"How… How did you…"

"Hard to explain, really." Ron said as he handed Harry back the traveling cloak after carefully removing the mokeskin from it. "Went to Bill and Fleur's, seeing as I didn't know where Mum and Dad were. Bill didn't ask any questions, though I'm sure he was cross that I'd left." Ron started as he watched Harry perform a warming charm and throwing the cloak back over himself; safely tucking the mokeskin back under his shirt. "I wanted to come back as soon as I'd left, to be honest, but when I came back, you and Hermione had already left…"

"She waited a while, hoping you'd come back, you know." Harry offered as he pulled out the locket and held it out to Ron. "I think you should destroy this."

"I can't…" Ron admitted; looking down at the locket with nothing short of misery. "That thing affects me more than either of you, you know."

"That's exactly why you need to." Harry urged as he placed the locket down on the ground in front of Ron and handed him the sword. "Get rid of it and conquer it."

"Are you sure?" Ron hesitated as Harry looked down at the locket again. "What if I can't-"

"I know you can. You came back here, didn't you? What was the point of it if you can't do this?" Harry asked as he steadied himself. "I'm going to open it. Don't hesitate; just stab it."

"Alright…"

Harry focused on the snake on the face of the locket and spoke quietly. He recognized the hissing as parseltongue, and was able to command the locket to open. When it did, Harry could see the two small glass windows in it flogging up. He also heard that same screeching like metal on glass as he looked to Ron. Before he could say anything however, the voice that erupted from the locket was that of Voldemort, and Ron tensed up.

"I have seen your heart, Ronald Weasley, and it is mine." The voice hissed. It began changing as it continued, and Harry could hear his own voice speaking from the locket. "You were the son no one wanted. Your mother had hoped for a daughter, and you were a disappointment." To Harry and Ron's horror, a ghostly figure of himself rose from the locket as well as Hermione. They both stared at Ron. "Mrs. Weasley always said she would have preferred me to you as a son." The voice changed to that of Hermione as it continued taunting him. "Who would want you, when they could have him?" The figure of Hermione indicated that of Harry, and she floated toward him and kissed the ghostly Harry on the cheek. "Why would I want something as pathetic as you?"

"Kill it, Ron! It's lying!" Harry roared as his scar seared. "IT'S LYING!"

Ron hesitated again, and as the ghosts went to properly snogging in front of him, he raised the sword and brought it down hard when Hermione's eyes landed on him. Immediately, the images, voices, and squealing faded. The air around them got noticeably warmer, and there was the sound of metal on metal. Harry, whose scar had burned again, looked down at the locket to see its tiny glass windows cracked and ruined. White smoke seemed to be billowing out of it; vanishing in faint wisps around the locket's face. Harry then picked up the remains of the destroyed horcrux and pocketed it.

"Well done."

"Thanks, mate." Ron said as he went to join Harry on the walk back to the campsite where Hermione should still have been sleeping.

"So, how is it you found us?" Harry tried for simple conversation in attempt to keep things light. "Did you cast that doe patronus?"

"No..." Ron said looking rather confused. "I thought you'd done it."

"Mine's a stag, remember?"

"Oh, right." Ron looked down; slightly embarrassed. "I dunno who then. Hermione's isn't a doe... Anyway," He quickly changed subject as they headed back through the winding path. "I was at Bill and Fleur's when I clicked the deluminator that Dumbledore left." He pulled it out for good measure, but didn't click it. "Little ball of light appeared out of nowhere and just hovered there."

"Hovered there?" Harry asked. He had seen Ron play with it many times, but had never had it do that.

"Yeah. I waited to see if it would go into the lamp, but it didn't. It just floated there." Ron looked at the deluminator as if it was only just now happening. "Started hearing a voice, Hermione's voice, and then it just floated toward me; entered my chest." Ron motioned to his heart. "I knew what I had to do... Just apparated, and came out on a hillside. I looked around, but you weren't there."

"We were there before Godric's Hollow." Harry confirmed.

"Yeah, I clicked it again, and the ball of light appeared again. Did the same thing, so I apparated again. I wound up in Godric's Hollow, but some barmy old man said you two had just left; said Hermione was pulling you out of a tent when he saw you and you two just vanished after that."

"Yeah, we had to… You Know Who showed up and tried to kill me."

"So I clicked it again, and this time, it brought me here." Ron motioned to the wood around them. "Saw the doe and followed it and that was when I saw you kicking around back there like you were having a fit." He paused and looked at the deluminator with slight awe. "D'you think Dumbledore knew I'd leave or something?"

"Dunno."

By this time, they had gotten out of the thicker trees, and Harry saw the tent set up just a few yards away. Ron followed him but hung back slightly as they approached the opening. When he muttered something about Hermione's reaction, Harry jokingly said to retell the tale of how he got there but focus on the ball of light that touched his heart. Ron grinned, but he was still slightly unsure when Harry pulled the flap back and entered. Hermione was already waiting for them; sitting on her bed and repairing her own traveling cloak.

"Hermione, look what I found." Harry said as he pulled Ron into the tent. Hermione took one look at him and stepped forward with a pillow. She proceeded to beat Ron with it.

"How... Dare... You... Show... Your... Face... Again-" She paused between thumps with the pillow, and Harry stopped her from pulling it back again.

"Hermione, wait." He pulled out the locket and showed it to her. "He destroyed it." He clarified as Hermione just looked at the locket with confusion. Then Harry told her of the doe patronus and how it had led him to the sword, how Ron had pulled them both out successfully, and how Ron had overcome his issues with the horcrux to destroy it. That didn't quite ease Hermione's mood, but it did at least keep her from hitting him anymore with the pilow. She settled for asking him how he had gotten there. Ron recounted the story he had told Harry, and she paused in her hard stare as he mentioned her voice and the ball of light. At this, Harry couldn't suppress a grin, but Ron and Hermione's relationship didn't quite improve over the next few days. Hermione tolerated him, and Ron did his best to get back into her good graces. Still, it took a while for her to even start speaking to him.