Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting together on Harry's bed while Harry twirled the Horcrux in his fingers. Such overwhelming happiness had filled his body that he wouldn't be surprised if he started to float. Finally, a Horcrux…now there was just two things nagging him.

"So, how to we destroy it?" Ron said, breaking the silence that had lasted after they left the drawing room. This was one of the things that he had been thinking of.

"Dunno," mumbled Harry, holding the Horcrux up to eye level. "Maybe some powerful magic."

"Not necessarily," said Hermione briskly. "There's always Muggle ways…maybe a knife, sword, hammer…you name it; they're worth a shot."

"Ah, but I've got an even better idea," said Ron excitedly. "Hermione, I may be replacing you as a genius, but…."

He stood up, went around to his bedside table, and picked up his wand, twirled it, and pointed it at the Horcrux as a gesture.

"I've got this amazing idea…" he told them, reading their curious expressions. "Gimme something you don't need…." Harry looked around, finding a small extra pillow, and handed it to him. "Alright, watch - Diffindo!"

The pillow split in two, sending tufts of stuffing floating about their knees and feet. Ron looked at them anxiously. Harry looked impressed; this could break the Horcrux!

But when Ron looked at Hermione's expression, his face fell. She, unlike Harry, looked as though restraining herself from sighing.

"Ron…I don't think it's that simple."

"Well, why not?" Ron said defiantly. "It's like you said, it's worth a shot!"

"I think that it would require a stronger experience with that spell before breaking a powerful Dark Magic object."

There was a pause, and when Ron's wand arm fell to his side, he said, "Guess so…."

"Then I think Harry should practice," Hermione said, regaining a brisk tone. "Practice makes perfect, doesn't it?"

"Just Harry?" said Ron, looking at her quizzically. "I think we all should."

"Well, I think that would be a good idea, too…."

"Tell you what," said Harry's voice abruptly. "We can do this tomorrow. For now, I'm completely exhausted, so I'm going to bed. If you two have been waiting to snog each other senseless, this would be a good time, but do it somewhere else, if you don't mind."

Ron and Hermione turned pink, actually looking like they were considering the thought. But all Ron did was give Hermione's hand a squeeze and bid her good night. Both boys fell asleep at once.

Harry woke up the next morning, forgetting why he was so anxious for a split second. But then it hit him: The Horcrux. He quickly put on his glasses and got dressed. By then, Ron had finally waken up.

"So, whadaya think?" he said drowsily, getting up into a sitting position. "This Horcrux…we can finally destroy it…."

"We can practice Diffindo after breakfast," Harry said. "Then we can practice with Hermione."

When they arrived in the kitchen, everyone but Hermione was there.

"Where's Hermy?" Ron wondered aloud, helping himself to some waffles that Winky had just served.

"Right here!" answered a voice from the doorway.

Hermione walked over to the table, sat down next to Ron, and said to both Harry and Ron, "Well, I was just looking in the spell book I got when we went shopping, the Standard Book of Spells Grade 7, and didn't see anything else that could be used to destroy the Horcrux, but when I was looking in my book of potions, there's certain ones that we can use to burn the Horcrux! You see - "

Ron suddenly kissed Hermione, and said, "Thank you, Hermione, can I eat my waffles now?"

Hermione hardened her stare at him.

"You still want to use the Diffindo one, don't you?"

But Ron's mouth was so full of waffle that when he tried to speak, he only made an inaudible sound.

"I can bring my books with me to Witherwing's old room. That should be where we study."

"Great," Ron mumbled after swallowing his waffles. "No more school and we still have to study."

"Well, if you don't want to," snapped Hermione. "Then don't bother helping!"

She snatched a waffle from the platter, and forgetting the rest of the other varieties of food, stood up, and said, "I'll go get my books and be in Buckbeak's room," and strode away.

Ron stared after her curiously and turned to Harry.

"Did I say something wrong?'

"I dunno…" Harry said. "You know Hermione…easy to tick off."

"I know," said Ron agreed. "It really ticks me off!"

But, Harry and Ron still met Hermione up in Buckbeak's old room. Ron, who did not want to incense Hermione any further, brought his cauldron up with them.Hermione was sitting on clean patch of floor; some parts of the wooden floor were dirty. She glanced up at them when they entered, her eyes lingering on Ron's caldron.

"I'm open to any suggestions on how we can destroy the Horcrux," he confessed.

"Thank you, Ronald, that's much better," said Hermione, sounding like a shrink to a patient, and looking back down a her potions book which was held up by a small stack of books.

"Found anything?" Harry asked, walking over to her and peering down at her book.

"Yes, I did," Hermione said, flipping back a few pages. "I was about to tell you that before I was, er - interrupted." She looked over at Ron, who grinned and said, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"There are some potions that can melt objects…." Hermione said, looking down at her book as she tried to conceal a small smile. "Like this one here…" she pointed to a picture of slow bubbling potion in a large cauldron. "but personally, I wouldn't like having to reach my hand in the cauldron to get the Horcrux back out if it didn't melt."

"Me neither," said Harry and Ron at the same time.

"So, after looking at that," Hermione continued, "I decided that we can go back to Diffindo for now."

Ron beamed.

"Ron, can I use your cauldron for a moment?" Harry asked. If he needed to practice, a cauldron would be a good match, compared to the Horcrux.

"Sure," Ron said.

"Diffindo!" Harry said, waving his wand at the cauldron that lay on the floor by Ron's feet.

The cauldron split cleanly in two. As the halves hit the floor, it made two thuds.

"Reparo," Harry said, and the cauldron repaired itself at once.

"Uh-oh," said Ron walking over to his cauldron. "What if it works on the Horcrux, but someone Reparo's it?"

"I don't think that will be a problem," said Hermione. "See, once you destroy the Horcrux, I'm guessing that part of the soul is gone. So then - "

"It'd just be a locket!" Harry finished. Excitement had once again flooded throughout his body as he pulled out the Horcrux in his pocket.

"Want me to give it a go?"

Ron and Hermione nodded mutely.

Harry inhaled deeply, put the Horcrux on the floor, and pointed his wand at it.

"DIFFINDO!" Harry cried.

And with a loud hiss, the Horcrux cracked open.