Three to Go

Ginny's POV

I paced around the kitchen at Number 12 Grimmauld Place nervously, glancing at the clock on the wall every few seconds. Ron was seated in one of the kitchen chairs with Hermione in his lap, rubbing soothing circles on her back as she chewed on her bottom lip. When I looked over at them, I sometimes caught him watching me, and other times I saw him looking at the clock, too. Kreacher stood near the stove, pulling on his ears worryingly. Harry better get back quickly so I can give him a piece of my mind! But I knew that, despite my best efforts, not even my thoughts had a malicious tone to them. It killed us to just wait here, safe, while Harry, Percy, and Annabeth were out retrieving one of Voldemort's most prized possessions in a monster-infested area. We had grown close to the two demigods on this quest, and were just as worried about them as we were Harry (although I might've been a wee bit more worried about my boyfriend). The lunch Kreacher had made us laid untouched on the table, but the house-elf didn't seem to mind.

My heart leapt as Kreacher let go of his ears and disappeared and I froze where I stood. In my peripheral vision, I could see Hermione and Ron turn their heads in my direction, assumingly to look at me. Seconds later, Kreacher reappeared, holding hands with two invisible people and Percy, who was holding the hand of the invisible person between him and Kreacher. That person was revealed to be Annabeth as she removed her hat just as Harry took off his cloak and put it on the back of a chair. I barely gave him time to put it on the chair, though, as I flung myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He staggered a bit, not expecting me to do that, especially in front of Ron. (What do I bloody care? He needs to get his head out of his arse and realize that I can fancy whoever I want!) Before Harry could say anything, I pressed my lips to his firmly in a kiss that he readily returned as he wrapped his arms around my waist. As we kissed, I nearly forgot I was supposed to be furious with him.

When I pulled away, he set me down, and I swung my hand up, slapping him across the face. "Harry James Potter, don't you dare make me leave you in danger ever again! I was worried sick! You could've gotten hurt! Or – or –" I whimpered as my anger abated, not wanting to say what else might've happened to him.

Removing his hand from where he had been rubbing his cheek (which had turned an angry red color), Harry wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. He murmured, "I'm sorry."

"If you think that 'sorry' is going to cover it, you're sadly mistaken," I whispered, but there was no malice in my voice.

Someone cleared their throat uncomfortably, which was followed by a thumping noise. I turned my head in the direction of the sounds and saw Ron standing to my right awkwardly with Hermione at his side, glaring at him. I'm guessing she's the one who made the thumping noise, giving the git a good smack for interrupting my boyfriend and me. Harry dropped a kiss on my head and tried to pull away, but I just clung tighter. I wasn't letting him go so quickly after what I just went through (although I'm sure what he just went through was just as stressful). He chuckled and adjusted his hold on me so one arm was completely around my waist, holding me to his side, and freed the other one. Hermione lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and standing on the tips of her toes. Harry gave her a one-armed hug, since his other was still around me. When she pulled away, Ron came forward, "Alright, mate?"

Harry smiled, "Yeah." Ron smiled back and thumped him on the back.

"Percy has the Horcrux," Annabeth interjected, speaking for the first time since the threesome got back. We all turned to them, and Percy pulled a golden box from his pocket, setting it on the table.

"I thought it was supposed to be a ring?" Ron asked.

"It's the in the box," Percy replied. "Annabeth and I got a bad feeling about touching the ring, so we just took the box it was in."

"Who wants to destroy this one? There are four Horcruxes, including this one, left, and four of us who haven't destroyed one. So Ginny, Hermione, Percy, Annabeth; which of you wants to do it?" Harry asked.

"I think Percy should destroy the snake, since he's the one who can handle a sword and…well, it's a snake, so it'll probably be moving, and it would be easier to kill with a weapon with more reach," Hermione suggested.

"Alright," Percy shrugged.

"I'll do it," I declared suddenly, staring at the box. This was all working towards defeating the man who possessed me, who ruined the lives of countless others with his maniacal attacks. He needed to be vanquished, and like hell was I going to stand aside and wait for Harry to do it alone. I glanced at Annabeth, "May I borrow your knife?"

The blonde girl wordlessly drew the bronze weapon and passed it to me. I took the hilt and slid out of Harry's embrace, approaching the table. With one hand, I flipped open the lid, revealing the ring, which was nothing special; a stone – a real rock, not a gemstone – with an odd symbol on it set onto an unimpressive band. Feeling awkward with the knife in my hand, I slowly brought it down instead of simply stabbing the thing. Holding the bulky handle with sharp metal coming out as a blade was nothing like holding a slim wand or even a kitchen knife. The ring wriggled and shook inside the box, but the golden container kept it from moving a lot. With the point just above the ring, I waited for a good shot, my eyes following its movement. Since it was so small, it was harder to stab than the locket surely had been for Ron. Finally, it made the mistake of crossing under the blade to get to the other side of the box, and I quickly brought the knife down, right in between the band and the stone. That odd smoke that we saw when Ron destroyed the locket was released, telling us that the Horcrux was no more.

Three down, three to go, and then Voldemort would be a mortal man.

I have decided that Harry will not be a Horcrux in this fic. Even though Dumbledore is alive and couldn't be at in the limbo scene, I would've put James, Lily, and Sirius there instead if I had decided to make Harry a Horcrux. But I want to work that into another fic I'm thinking of writing (but haven't started, since this is my top priority), and I don't want to copy scenes from one fic to another if they have nothing to do with each other.

Nico appears in the next chapter, for you Nico fans! (And he scares the Hades out of his demigod buddies, *grins*) I just haven't written it yet, only planned it.

A happy belated birthday to Harry Potter, and early birthday to my friend Cassidy (Friday the 13th this year; good thing she's not Trelawney!).