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Chapter Ten: Romania
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Harry and Ron entered into the kitchen of The Burrow three days later, having successfully passed their Apparition tests (Ron's eyebrows rested firmly on their rightful places above his eyes), with Mr Weasley behind them. Both boys were grinning proudly.

'You passed!' Hermione yelled, jumping up from her chair to hug them both.

'Where's Mum?' asked Ron. Hermione and Ginny exchanged looks and Harry's chest tightened uncomfortably. Had something happened?

'At Grimmauld Place,' said Ginny. 'They all are. We had to stay behind and wait for you three to get back so we could explain everything and Floo there together.'

Harry stared anxiously at her. 'Well? Tell us already!'

'They've found another Horcrux,' said Hermione.

'What? Where'd they find it?' questioned Ron.

'Well, they aren't absolutely sure,' explained Ginny. 'Dumbledore told McGonagall that he'd planned on checking the location this summer, but ...you know.'

'He's almost certain that there's a Horcrux hidden there,' continued Hermione. 'The problem is that nobody can be certain if it's the cup, or if it's another one. If it's another one, we –'

'Won't know what it'll look like ...right,' said Harry quickly. 'But there's only one way to find out. Let's get to Grimmauld Place.'

'How?' asked Ron. 'It's not on the Floo network, is it?'

'Yes,' said Mr Weasley, 'it should be. But let's move. We'll need to hurry.'

Mr Weasley ushered everyone to the fireplace. He grabbed a pinch of Floo powder and threw it into the fire, making the flames rise higher and turn an emerald colour. Hermione went first, yelling, 'Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place!' Ron followed suit, then Ginny, then Harry.

Harry stumbled out of the fire and into Grimmauld Place, right in the middle of a crazy, hectic Order meeting. Mrs Weasley ushered the four deep into the kitchen, followed by Mr Weasley, who emerged from the fireplace after Harry. Bill was yelling coordinates across the kitchen to Tonks, who was hastily jotting them down on a piece of parchment. Lupin was hunched over a large map that covered most of the kitchen table, and as Tonks relayed the coordinated to him, Kingsley enthusiastically pointed on the map, saying things like, 'Yes, yes, there, I've found it,' and 'Rather far, don't you think?' Mad-Eye Moody and McGonagall were in deep conversation, with Moody gesturing wildly and McGonagall's arms crossed over her chest, her foot tapping impatiently, telling Harry that he would be wise to stay away from them for the time being.

'You four,' ordered McGonagall when she broke away from Moody. 'Get over here.'

'What's going on, Professor?' questioned Harry as he, Ron, Ginny and Hermione rushed over to her.

'Well, there's a lot to explain,' said McGonagall. 'For the past year and a half, Charlie Weasley has spent much of his time in Romania trying to recruit Aurors and other powerful witches and wizards for the Order. It was a rather easy feat, considering...'

'Considering what?' asked Hermione.

'Right, yes, you wouldn't know, would you? Back in the days when Lord Voldemort was starting to establish himself as a powerful dark wizard,' McGonagall explained, 'he was known for his unpredictability. He wanted everyone, all over the world, to know and fear his name. He, along with his following of Death Eaters, would appear in random places and slay wizards and Muggles alike. One of the most gruesome and terrifying massacres to ever take place was done by Lord Voldemort, in Romania, several decades ago. He murdered witches, wizards, Muggles ...even children.' Hermione gasped. 'So, naturally, it was easy to find people willing to participate. Many lost family members, or were simply tired of living in fear, and joined forces with us to extract revenge and make Romania a safe place for them and their loved ones.'

'What does that have to do with a Horcrux?' Harry asked impatiently.

'I didn't tell you this yet, but when I spoke to Albus and he first told me about the Horcruxes, he informed me that he had intended on traveling to Romania and searching for a Horcrux this summer. He had even planned on bringing you, Potter,' McGonagall said.

'But ...why would there be a Horcrux there?' asked Ron.

'Because Voldemort needed a truly important place to stash a part of his soul,' Ginny breathed.

'Precisely, Miss Weasley,' affirmed McGonagall. 'The attack on Romania was legendary. It was one of the instances that truly solidified Lord Voldemort's status in our world.'

'Oh ...but how do you know exactly where the Horcrux will be, if all of Romania was targeted?' asked Hermione.

'It was only a specific area, for one thing,' said Bill, who had finished giving coordinates and had joined the conversation. 'And Charlie was given orders to get a group together and start searching for the object the day after Dumbledore's burial. His team doesn't know they're actually looking for a Horcrux, though. They're only doing spells to detect high levels of magic, so they can hopefully find the right place. It should be a dead giveaway once they find it, since it will no doubt be protected by a ton of spells and enchantments.'

'That's why Charlie was home for a few days?' Ginny asked, realization dawning on her. 'He said he came to do something for the Order, but he wouldn't tell me exactly what it was.'

'Yes, that is why he was here. He was giving a progress report,' McGonagall explained. 'He had a breakthrough recently. I've just arrived back, actually. I spent the last two days in Romania, to see things for myself. I wanted to make sure everything was in order before I called you lot in and we all left.'

'Left?'

'Yes, Miss Weasley. Left. Or have you forgotten that these three are coming along on our missions to destroy Horcruxes?'

Ginny blushed and Harry felt a stab of anger. McGonagall didn't have to sound so hostile, did she? Ginny only asked a simple question, after all.

'No, sorry, I'm aware. I just didn't think you'd all be leaving right away,' said Ginny.

McGonagall nodded. 'Yes, well, we have reason to believe that Voldemort has caught wind of our plans and therefore we must act much faster than we'd generally prefer to.' She cleared her throat and looked at Hermione. 'We intend on leaving very soon. Miss Granger, are your parents aware of your whereabouts, and what you'll be doing in the next few hours?'

'Um ...yes, Professor,' Hermione said. Harry knew she was lying. For someone who was usually against rule-breaking or deception of any kind, Hermione had been rather quick to leave her parents in the dark and lie to cover her tracks. They still didn't know that she'd almost died at the end of fifth year, and they most certainly didn't know it was because their daughter went chasing after the most powerful and dangerous wizard alive. Harry had been told by Ron that when her parents had come to pick her up at the train station after the Department of Mysteries fiasco, and Mr Weasley mentioned something about making sure she was well-rested and healed up, Hermione insisted she had tripped and fallen down the stairs, and that Mr Weasley was just overly-concerned. And her parents, thinking that their dear, sweet Hermione would never lie to them, believed her.

McGonagall gave her a suspicious look, instantly portraying that she didn't believe Hermione's story for a second. 'I know you're of legal age in our world, but I expect it would be quite the nasty shock for them if you were injured while enjoying what they'd expected to be a safe stay at the Weasley house. You've told them? You're sure about that, Granger?'

'Positive.'

'Alright then,' McGonagall said wearily. 'Let's get to work, so we can hopefully get in and out with no lives lost.'

Ginny blanched.

Harry tried to laugh, but it came out rather strangled. He shook his head. 'Don't listen to her, we'll be fine,' he said. She nodded, but didn't relax any.

'And you're sure I can't come?' she asked.

'That is to be taken up with your mother, Miss Weasley,' McGonagall said sternly. 'It is not up to me to decide.' Ginny nodded. 'Now, come on. We must hurry.'

An hour later, they were standing in the kitchen with a Portkey, ready to leave.

'Ronald Weasley, I forbid you to go,' Mrs Weasley said for the third time.

'Too bad, Mum, I'm going. You can't stop me, y'know.'

'Hermione, dear, please don't leave,' Mrs Weasley said, rounding on her. 'It's dangerous. What if you got hurt? What would your poor parents think?'

'Mrs Weasley,' said Hermione lightly, 'if I don't go, who'll be there to watch out for these two? I promise you that everything will be okay, really.'

'Harry! Please, Harry, don't do this,' Mrs Weasley begged. 'Leave this to the adults.'

'We'll be fine, I swear. I won't let anything happen to them,' Harry said. He caught Ron rolling his eyes, but said nothing.

'Bill? Talk some sense into them,' Mrs Weasley pleaded. Harry was started to feel badly about things. Because of Harry, another one of her sons was being put in danger. He wasn't stupid; he knew that telling Ron he'd decided Ron couldn't come, after all, wouldn't go over too well. Besides, Ron would be valuable, and his help might make the difference between life and death. But still, it didn't make him feel any better about looking at Mrs Weasley and telling her there was no way they would back down and stay home, where she could make sure they were safe.

'Mum, I'm going, too. I can't exactly say anything, can I?' Bill sighed. Harry could tell he wasn't thrilled that the three of them were coming along, especially Ron, but he chose to ignore Bill for the moment.

'Now,' McGonagall said sternly, 'this is your Portkey.' Harry looked at the off-white, dusty, large Muggle clock in her hands. 'This will bring you to the Order's Romanian Headquarters, where Charlie Weasley will be. I trust that you can all Apparate?' Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded. Harry felt it best to not inform her that he'd only gotten his license earlier that morning, and Ron apparently felt the same, for he remained silent as well. McGonagall gave them all the once over. 'Right, well, once at Headquarters, you will make your way to the area in which we believe there is the Horcrux. If at any time, you are injured –' Mrs Weasley gasped 'or find that you need to escape, do not hesitate to leave. Do not try to be a hero – yes, I'm look at you, Potter – because it will only endanger everyone else involved. Charlie has lowered the barriers around the Headquarters for the time being, so you can Apparate back there if you have to. Understand?'

'Yes,' said Hermione. Ron and Harry nodded.

'We've also brought in a few Healers that are associated with the Order,' explained Mrs Weasley. 'They don't know all the details. They just know that if anyone is injured, they're supposed to assist that person in any way possible.' She looked at Ginny and smiled. 'Ginny and I will also be here, with first-aid kits and the like, to help.' She turned back to them and said, to Ron in particular, 'If I need to use my first-aid kit on any one of you, it'll be your last mission, whether you're of legal age or not.Do you understand?'

'Give it a rest, Mum, we'll be fine,' said Ron.

'If they're hurt, Molly, they can Apparate back to the Headquarters, grab a Portkey, and they'll be back here before you know it, so you can treat them,' said Lupin. 'And threatening them doesn't help the situation, you know.'

Mrs Weasley opened her mouth to reply, but McGonagall cut in. 'Okay, is everybody ready?'

'Wait!' yelled Ginny. She rushed over to them and wrapped her arms tightly around Ron. 'You'd better be careful. And listen to Mum! If you get hurt, don't be a git. Get back here as soon as you can.' Ron, who seemed slightly taken aback by her hug, merely nodded and patted her on the back. She kissed him on the cheek before releasing him and grabbing Hermione. 'I know you're smart, so I don't think I need to tell you to be careful, but I'm going to say it anyway,' Ginny said.

'We'll be fine,' Hermione said reassuringly, returning the hug. 'Nothing will happen to us.'

Ginny nodded and moved onto Harry. She was hugging him so tightly that he thought for sure she'd crack a few ribs if she didn't let go soon. 'Just ...please don't die,' she whispered.

Harry laughed, trying to ignore the pang of guilt he felt. He hugged her back tightly, not caring if Ron was watching. 'I'll try not to. Thanks for the vote of confidence, though,' he said dryly.

Ginny pulled away and kissed him on the cheek. Her lips lingered longer on him than they had on her brother, and Harry wished he could give her a proper kiss before leaving. 'Make sure they stay safe,' she instructed Lupin, Tonks and Kingsley. They nodded and grinned at her. 'Bill, don't get too roughed up. We have a wedding to be at in a few days, and you're kind of scheduled to make an appearance,' she said, hugging her eldest brother.

'I need to say goodbye again!' Mrs Weasley announced when Ginny backed off. 'Oh, Ronnie, be careful. Please, be careful. Hermione, have your wand ready at all times, and no close calls like the Department of Mysteries! Harry, dear, if anything happens, you grab those two and you get back to Headquarters as fast as you can. Bill, I know that you know what you're doing, but I'll still worry until you get back safely.' She hugged and kissed them all before stepping back, wiping tears from her eyes. 'I wish I could go with you!'

Ron, who must've sensed that it was an inappropriate time to roll his eyes or say something smart, merely nodded and said, 'Don't sweat it, Mum. We'll be back before you know it.'

'I love you,' she breathed. 'All of you.'

'Love you, too,' they said together.

'Alright, now that we're through with the goodbyes,' McGonagall said, 'I take it you're all ready to go?'

There was a cheer of agreement from the trio. McGonagall smiled affectionately at them.

'We'll take good care of them, Molly,' Moody growled.

'And we'll try to make sure nobody needs that first-aid kit,' said Tonks.

'Give our love to Charlie,' said Mrs Weasley.

'On the count of three,' McGonagall said as Harry, Hermione, Ron, Lupin, Tonks, Moody, Kingsley and Bill reached out to grab the clock. 'One ...two ...three.'

The ground disappeared as Harry felt a familiar pull from behind his navel. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were in another room, a larger, older-looking one.

'Hello,' said Charlie. 'It's about time you showed up.' Harry looked around the large room. He was almost positive that they were in an old castle of some sort. The ceilings were outrageously high and everything looked antique. Behind Charlie were about thirty witches and wizards, who stopped what they were doing the moment Charlie greeted those arriving via Portkey.

'Sorry we're late ...Mum wasn't exactly letting those three go without a fight,' explained Bill as he and Charlie greeted each other.

'I expected as much,' Charlie said as he said hello and hugged Tonks. 'Remus, hello ...Kingsley, good to see you again ...oh, Moody, you could at least pretend to be happy to see me,' he laughed as he shook hands with the three men. Moody grunted and Charlie looked at Ron. 'Little brother, when Mum told me you were coming, I didn't believe her.'

'What – you thought I would actually let you have all the fun without me?'

'No, I suppose you wouldn't,' Charlie smiled. 'Ah, Hermione, how've you been?'

Harry restrained himself from laughing as Ron frowned, seeing the silly smile that flashed across Hermione's face as Charlie hugged her. 'As good as I can be, living with these two,' Hermione joked. Ron and Harry rolled their eyes.

'Alright there, Harry?' asked Charlie, shaking his hand.

'Sure am,' said Harry. 'When're we going?'

'Slow down,' Charlie said, 'there's still a bit we have to do first, because we can send you out. Allow me to introduce my associates.'

As if on cue, a handful of the people behind Charlie rushed up to meet everyone.

Charlie pointed to a tall, attractive woman with long black hair, sharp blue eyes and a small, stubby nose. 'This is Anastasia Stinga.' The woman smiled and nodded curtly. 'That's Dimitri Pavel –' a short man with a balding head and long nose waved 'and over there is Ivan Meila –' a heavyset man grunted and wore an expression similar to Moody's. 'They'll bring you to the destination and show you possible escape routes.'

'We are going to a memorial graveyard zat was set up to 'onour those who were killed by You-Know-Who,' the woman named Anastasia said in a thick accent that sounded much like Fleur's, just with a deeper voice.

'It's hidden in a graveyard?' Hermione asked, careful not to let it slip that the 'it' they were looking for was actually a Horcrux. 'Will we have to d-dig up dead bodies?'

'Zere is a 'idden passageway underground, beneath ze graveyard,' said another woman. She had what appeared to be dark hair that looked purple under the dim lighting. 'We 'ave determined zat ze tunnel is leading to another place, and zat ze place is 'eavily protected with powerful magic.'

'That's where we're really going,' Charlie clarified. 'By the way, this is –'

'Cassibellaunus Predoviciu,' the seemingly purple-haired woman said, reaching out to shake Harry's hand. 'But you may call me Cassi.' Harry nodded and shook her hand. 'You, of course, are 'Arry Potter. I 'ave 'eard all about you.'

'Er – it's nice to meet you,' said Harry.

'Cassi's one of the top Aurors in Romania,' continued Charlie. 'She's going to be staying here while we go out. If any of you need to Apparate back here and need to get to Grimmauld Place for any reason, you find her and she'll have a Portkey ready for you.'

'Zat is a lovely colour you 'ave zere,' Cassi said to Tonks. 'Are you a Metamorphmagus?' Tonks nodded and her hair changed from bubblegum pink to sky blue. 'I am one, too.' Cassi demonstrated by changing her hair to a fiery orange, so she, Ron, Bill and Charlie matched.

'Wow, I don't think I know anyone else who's a Metamorphmagus. Were you –?'

'Ladies, ladies, we have a mission to get to,' reminded Lupin. 'You can chat later.'

'Right,' Charlie agreed. 'Let's get to work. We still have a few more things to straighten out before you can leave.' Harry watched as Cassi changed her hair back to dark purple. Tonks made her hair change to black, saying that it would be better to blend in with the dark when they were outside. 'Valerica Cuza is a Healer. Incase any of you get roughed up really badly, and aren't able to take the Portkey back to your Headquarters, she'll help you out.'

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'I take it that these Portkeys are unauthorized?' asked Hermione, an hour later, as they were ready to depart. Ron rolled his eyes at the girl. After all the things he and Harry had put her through, she was still worried about breaking rules. Had he taught her nothing?

Charlie grinned. 'Well, unless you'd like to explain to the Ministry why we need them ...' Hermione smiled and shook her head. 'Alright. You'll take a Portkey to a safe house near the destination. From there, Anastasia, Dimitri and Ivan will lead you directly to the graveyard. If you sense danger, get back here immediately. Do you understand?'

'We understand,' said Hermione. Harry settled for a nod and Ron grunted.

'Okay. Be safe, little brother. Harry, Hermione, stay out of trouble. Mum'll kill me and Bill if anything happens to you lot.' Ron rolled his eyes. 'Have you got your wands?' asked Charlie. Everyone nodded and patted their pockets. 'Good.' They all reached out to touch a piece of the Portkey. Ron shut his eyes tightly. He didn't like keeping them open when they traveled this way ...it made him dizzy. 'On three ...one ...two ...three.'

When he felt his feet hit solid ground once more, Ron opened his eyes again; he was in the dark. 'Can we turn on a light or something?' he asked quietly.

'No,' came Anastasia's voice from somewhere to his left. 'If using light wasn't a danger, we would be doing zis in ze afternoon, when ze sun is shining.'

Suddenly, Ron was being pushed forward by someone. The moonlight cast a shadow on them, and he could now make out their faces.

'Let's go,' said Ivan. 'Follow closely – children be'ind us, adults be'ind them. Wands ready.'

Ron, Hermione and Harry walked stealthily behind Dimitri, Anastasia and Ivan, putting a bit of distance between them, but not enough that they'd lose sight of their leaders. Behind them were Tonks and Lupin, and then Kingsley, Moody and Bill bringing up the rear. They walked for several minutes up a very steep hill in complete silence before finally arriving at the top, which was home to a dark, creepy cemetery. It was a regular Muggle-looking cemetery, but it held mostly witches and wizards. They hopped a small fence and crept across the grass, stopping in front of a large tombstone.

Anastasia tapped the front of the stone with her wand and then walked around it, tapping random places as she went. She stepped back and waited. There was a low rumble and Hermione gasped as the ground underneath them began to shake. The stone rose up out of the ground fifteen feet, revealing a dark set of stairs that led into the ground.

'Zis is where we leave you,' Dimitri said. 'Once you are down zere, eet is questionable whether or not you can Apparate out. To be perfectly safe, you should try to get outside, to zis spot, before Apparating.'

'Thank you, said Lupin. 'We hope to be back at your Headquarters soon.'

'Good luck,' said Anastasia.

Bill smiled nervously at Ron. 'Ready?' Ron nodded.

'Wait!' Tonks hissed when Bill went to go down the steps. 'We don't know what'll happen yet ...you can't just walk in without checking things out first!' She conjured up a rock and tossed it down the steps, into the darkness. 'Lumos.' They watched, by the light of her wand, as the stone bounced down the steps. When it hit the sixth, seventh and eighth steps, they fell away and disappeared as the stone continued bouncing to the bottom. 'Count the steps on your way down. When you get to the fifth one, you'll need to jump down to the ninth. Get a good, powerful jump. If you don't go far enough, you'll land on one of the bad steps and fall through ...and, well, who knows where you'll end up.'

Everyone nodded and muttered, 'Lumos.' Tonks went down first, followed by Bill. Harry went in next, and Ron followed closely behind. Ron felt slightly apprehensive for a moment before gritting his teeth, balling his fists, and jumping. He landed – rather ungracefully – on the ninth stair. Thankfully, the stairs were very narrow, and it hadn't proved as difficult or dangerous as he'd imagined it to be. He turned to watch the next person jump. He could see the nervous look on Hermione's face. She was firmly planted on the fifth stair, staring at the ninth as if there were a million steps between, instead of just three small ones.

'Just jump, Hermione,' encouraged Ron. She looked up at him with frightened eyes. 'I'll catch you, I promise.'

She nodded, shut her eyes, crouched and leapt forward. She narrowly avoided bumping her foot on the eighth stair and falling backwards. Ron's arms instantly sprung forward and grabbed her, pulling her close to him.

'Thanks,' she whispered. He nodded and let her go, watching as Lupin, Kingsley and (Ron found this sight extremely amusing) Moody hopped down to safety. They walked a bit further, Bill leading the way, all on guard with their wands ready. They followed Bill down a long, dark corridor. In a place like this, it was hard for Ron to forget that he was underground. He thanked Merlin that the tunnel was most likely held up by magic, or else it would've come crashing down on top of them already. There was a dirt path underfoot; the walls were dirt and he expected that the ceiling was, too. It was rather cold; they all preformed Heating Charms on each other before going any further. A putrid smell filled Ron's nostrils and he tried not to think about what could've caused it. Could there be dead bodies around there somewhere ...the bodies of those who'd tried and failed in their own personal attempts to retrieve the Horcrux? He no longer felt it important to waste his time worrying about the spiders that were more than likely all around them. He kept his eyes peeled for any approaching signs of danger, but even with seven wands lighting their way, they were only able to see a few feet in front of their faces.

'Stop,' Harry commanded after several minutes of walking. Everyone immediately stopped dead in their tracks and looked at him. Ron knew that Harry's wand had been deposited back into his pocket, for he could see a faint glowing light coming from the inside of Harry's robes. His eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply, heavily, as if every ounce of him was concentrating on something they couldn't see or even really understand. Nobody spoke as they watched him. Harry raised his arms and pressed his hands firmly against the wall of the tunnel, feeling blindly for something that didn't appear to be there. Hermione threw a concerned look at Ron, but he shook his head and stared, confidently, at Harry. Harry knew what he was doing ...at least, Ron hoped that he did. 'It's here.'

'What's here?' Lupin asked quietly. 'What is it, Harry?'

'Everything ...' said Harry. 'Nobody move. Don't go any further ...too dangerous. Give me a minute ...I need to figure out how to ...'

He outlined an invisible path along the wall. Ron brought his wand closer to Harry, allowing him the ability to see what he was doing, but Harry's eyes remained shut. A flicker of orange light passed from Harry's open palms into the wall, where it was absorbed. Suddenly, four thin, long planks appeared in front of them, which stretched across as far as Ron could see – which wasn't very far. It was then that he realized there hadn't been any ground in front of Bill, and had Harry not stopped them from walking, they all would've plummeted into the big pool of water which was a few steps ahead of them and about three feet down.

Harry's eyes flew open and he turned to Ron, a mixture of shock and excitement on his face. 'What ...what happened? How did you know ...?' asked Ron.

'I – I'm not sure,' said Harry. 'I just knew.'

'We can all marvel at Potter's unknown abilities later,' Moody barked. 'Right now, we need to keep moving. Four of us will go first, and the next three will follow behind. Who wants –?'

'No,' said Harry. 'There's a reason there's four boards to get across on. Four people, at the most, can be on the other side of these planks at a time.'

'Are you sure, Harry?' questioned Tonks.

'Positive. Something similar to this happened when I went with Professor Dumbledore. If Hermione, Ron and I were still underage, we could all get across without setting anything off, because underage wizards didn't matter to Voldemort when he set the spell, but ...'

'Who goes with you, then?' Kingsley asked Harry. 'You decide.'

'Ron and Hermione are coming with me,' he said instantly. Ron and Hermione grinned. 'It doesn't matter who the fourth person is ...whoever wants to come.'

'I'll go,' volunteered Bill. 'But if only four people can cross the planks ...well, what would happen if the other three swam across, in the water underneath them?'

Ron didn't miss the look on Harry's face, nor his shudder. 'Trust me – when dealing with Voldemort, the last thing you want to do is voluntarily get in the water,' advised Harry. Seeing everyone's confused looks, he muttered, 'Inferi.'

Ron inhaled sharply, and was suddenly very nervous about crossing the thin planks. What if he fell in?

'Oh,' said Bill. He looked about as uneasy as Ron felt. 'Okay, you heard him, everyone. Under no circumstances are we to go near water.'

'If you can't avoid it,' added Harry, 'heat and light will work to get rid of them.' He pulled his wand out of his pocket, the light still coming off of it, and said, 'Wands ready? C'mon.'

'We'll be waiting right here,' Lupin said.

This time it was Hermione nudging Ron along as they approaching the planks. Stepping onto them, Ron was pleased to find that they were wider than they appeared, and accommodated his large feet rather well. He walked for what felt like an eternity before the board came to an end and was replaced with solid ground again. He turned back and could no longer see Tonks, Lupin or Moody, though it was mostly due to the thick darkness, and not any great amount of distance that was between them.

They walked onward, every now and then stopping so Harry could feel the wall or take a look around.

'What do we do now?' Bill asked Harry. 'You've done this before ...anything we should know about?'

'Like what?' asked Harry.

'Well, is there anything we can do to help us know where the Horcrux is? A simple spell, maybe?' suggested Bill.

'You honestly think that You-Know-Who would go through all this trouble, only to let a "simple spell" be the ticket to getting his Horcrux?' asked Ron.

Bill scowled and narrowed his eyes at Ron. 'Look, little brother, I've got more experience than you do when it comes to stuff like this. Perhaps you should shut up and let Harry answer my question.'

Ron rolled his eyes, but said nothing. He was on his first Order mission, and he wasn't about to let his brother ruin it for him.

Nothing could ruin this moment.

'So ...is there anything?' Bill asked again.

'Not exactly ...but using the Summoning Charm helped a bit last time,' answered Harry. 'Everybody be careful, though, because once I Summon the Horcrux, any hexes that are guarding it will spring into effect.' They all nodded and gripped their wands tighter. 'Okay, ready? Accio Horcrux!'

Almost right away, Ron heard someone call 'Watch out!' and turned just in time to see something fly toward them and make contact with the person to his left. He heard a gasp of pain and almost passed out from the dread that suddenly hit him – along with a wave of nausea – when they hit the floor.

Okay, one thing could ruin this moment.

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...So who was it? You'll have to wait to find out! Haha, I'm so evil!

Review!