Hello, everybody! Didn't get such a big response on the last chapter-am I still doing okay? I hope so, I really like writing this :) Anyways, I'm probably not going to be able to update next week because I have family and I'm heading off to a wedding later today, but I figured I'd get this up before I left. Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: Not JK Rowling, don't own/make money off of any of this. Also, idea belongs to CaseyLove, and you MUST read her version of the story first before you read this.
Chapter 9: The Goblins
As it turned out, neither of them won the bet, for the bet was entirely forgotten in the middle of the night.
Hermione, who had been out on the watch for nearly three hours and was finally considering going to bed, came rushing into the tent quite suddenly.
"Ginny! Harry! Ron! Get up! Get up now!" she said. Ginny sat up immediately, but neither Ron nor Harry flinched.
"What's wrong, Hermione?" Ginny asked, rubbing her eyes.
"I think there's Death Eaters out there!" she said, and Ginny could read the fear in her eyes.
"Are you absolutely sure?" Ginny asked, already squirming her way free from Harry. Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but hesitated.
"About 98% sure, I guess."
"Let's go take a look, then, before we wake everyone up," Ginny suggested. Hermione nodded and the two girls made their way out of the tent into the cold night air. Their breath steamed in the air, and Ginny hoped with all her heart that the protective enchantments were working.
"Over here," Hermione whispered. Ginny followed her a few feet to the left of the campsite. "I mean...they really look like bad news at least, if not Death Eaters."
And Ginny had to agree. The four men were shrouded in black cloaks that blended almost perfectly into the shadows. Their faces were too deep in the cowls of their hoods to be seen properly, but their voices were low, sounding like hisses. Each man had his wand clutched in his fist, but they seemed to be mostly at peace.
"Let's see if we can hear them," Ginny said softly. Hermione shook her head vigorously, but Ginny moved forward, to the point where she knew she was pushing their protective spells. She could just hear their voices.
"...and Thicknesse has somehow started to fight the Imperius Curse. We ought to replace him."
"Have to clear it with him though, first, and he won't like that unless you have evidence. Do you, perchance?"
"No, sir."
"I thought not." The Death Eater with his back to Ginny curled the hand that was not clutching his wand into a fist. "You ignorant fools are simply reporting from others. I'll need to talk to someone...ah...higher up to get reliable information."
"Be careful, Malfoy," one of the cloaked figures warned. His voice was cocky and arrogant, that of one too used to given authority. "We bring you 'alf the people you've caught. We can easily transfer our business elsewhere."
"Yes, because we've simply got no other Snatchers we can utilize," the man that Ginny knew to be Lucius Malfoy snapped. "Stop with the empty threats. Have you any other disloyalties to report?"
"No, sir. Only Dolohov's been acting strange, but we've already told you that."
"Indeed you have. And the boy?"
"No sign of 'im," the man with the arrogant voice said, and Ginny detected a hint of anger in his tone. "We've been up and down the 'ole country, haven't seen hide nor 'air of 'im. 'e's hiding out somewhere, I tell you what. Probably with his little slut, too."
"Yes, we've already determined that Potter's hiding," Lucius Malfoy said, impatience in his every syllable. "It is your job to find him, or any of the people he's traveling with!"
"And I'm telling you, we can't find 'im!"
"Have you checked with the girl's family? He's married to her, for goodness sake, they must have some idea of where their daughter is? Or perhaps their son? It's been assumed he's traveling with them."
"The son's at home, he's sick."
"And the girl?"
"They say she's sick, too."
"Have you seen her?"
"Well...no," the man with the cocky voice admitted. "But we're going to be checking the 'Ogwarts Express for all of 'em in a few days. Then we'll know for sure. If they aren't on there, we'll have people on the family faster 'n a Seeker catches a Snitch. One way or another, we'll know by the end of the week."
"Very well," Lucius Malfoy said. "And you have your orders regarding each of them?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then you may go."
Three of the cloaked men bowed, then grasped each other's hands and Disapparated with a POP. A few seconds after they had, Lucius Malfoy did the same. Ginny turned to face Hermione, and for a moment, neither of them said anything.
"So they're looking for us," Ginny finally said, blowing out her breath. "That's nothing new."
"No...but your family's in danger and they're having loyalty problems among their ranks," Hermione said thoughtfully. "That's interesting. I wonder why."
"Because everyone's trying to cover their own arse," Ginny said, "so that they can survive when You-Know-Who falls again."
"Probably," Hermione said. "But we shouldn't linger here all the same. Let's get the boys up."
Ginny sighed. "And to think, James hadn't even woken up once tonight before this..."
They moved camp that day. And the next day. And the day after that. They moved almost every night, because it simply wasn't safe to stay in one area for longer than 24 hours. Deserted moors, woods, meadows, cliff sides, even beaches began to all blur together as the group continued to move. It was hard and taxing on all of them, for they couldn't always find food and they needed to keep Ginny and James, in particular, well-fed. It was essential that they keep James, at least, well-fed, because he was entering the crucial state during which all babies grow and eat a lot.
In addition, there was the locket to contend with. The four teenagers passed it around every 12 hours, each of them dreading it but putting up with it as best they could. It made them all short-tempered and irritable, and it had come to the point where if Ginny had the Horcrux, Harry would care for James for 24 hours (12 for the locket and 12 for recovery), and if Harry had the locket, Ginny would do the same. It wasn't easy, though, and all four of them fought often. It got to the point that one night, no one spoke to each other because they were all so angry.
And so it was in this rather depressing situation, about two weeks after the night no one spoke to each other, that things finally started to happen again.
It was just after their (measly) dinner, and Harry and Ginny were laying on the floor with James. Ginny was reading aloud to him, and Harry was amusing himself with one of James' many toys. The toy made a loud snapping sound every time he messed with it, and while he was amused by it (and so were James, Ginny, and Hermione), Ron (who had the locket on) was rather irritated by it.
So around the seventh time Harry made it snap, Ron sat up very suddenly.
"Would you stop that?"
"What?" Harry asked, nonplussed, looking up from the carpet.
"Playing with that bloody toy. It's driving me mad," Ron complained.
"Sorry," Harry muttered. "Just trying to amuse my son." Ron rolled his eyes but said nothing. Ginny slowly put away the book James hadn't been paying attention to and sat up. She could sense something was wrong with Ron-he was more irritated than he should have been, even with the locket on.
Before she could say anything, however, James fussed and Harry, while attempting to sit up, accidentally snapped the toy again. James cooed in delight, but Ron was furious.
"I just asked you not to do that!"
"I bumped it accidentally, mate, chill out," Harry said, a tightness in his voice that Ginny knew meant bad things. Harry leaned over and scooped up James, carrying him over to their makeshift changing station.
"Glad you place your son's entertainment higher than my peace of mind," Ron muttered, and this time it was Ginny who retorted.
"He's every bit as much a person as you are, Ronald, with the right to entertain himself. And in case you haven't noticed, he is six weeks old and therefore, yes, he does need more care than a seventeen-year-old brat," she snapped.
"Oh, now I'm a brat, am I?" Ron asked, getting up to face her. Ginny stood as well.
"Yes, you are. Sitting around on your arse all day moaning and complaining about how cold you are, how much your arm hurts, how there's nothing to eat and you're just so hungry-d'you think the rest of us aren't going through the same thing?"
"Well at least your arm isn't split open!" Ron yelled.
"Shut it!" Hermione yelled, so loudly that it startled both Ron and Ginny into silence. "There's someone outside the tent!"
The silence inside the tent was complete, for even James wasn't fussing. Harry had just finished changing his diaper and was frozen next to the couch, the baby in his arms.
"Get the lights," he whispered to Ron, who clicked the Deluminator at once. "Are the protective enchantments up?"
"Yes," Hermione replied. "I did them this morning."
They all glanced at Harry's Sneakoscope, which was lying flat on the table, unmoving.
"Put James in his cradle," Ginny whispered as the first rumble of voices could be heard. "I wish we could hear what they're saying!"
"I have some Extendable Ears," Hermione whispered back, already rummaging through her bag. "Here."
She tossed each of them a long, fleshy string and hurried to the front of the tent. Harry, Ron, and Ginny followed, each quickly cramming a string into their ear. The closer Ginny got to the tent flap, the clearer the voices became, until finally, it was as though she were standing among those speaking.
"Might be some salmon in 'ere, eh?" came a weary voice. "Not too late in the season, and we're far enough upstream. Accio Salmon!"
The sound of slapping flesh and grunting followed. Then the same voice spoke again. "I'll make us a fire and get these roasting. Can't eat 'em raw, now, can we?" He chuckled, but no one else spoke, though it was clear he was with a group of people.
None of the group outside spoke as the sounds of branches being snapped off trees filled the clearing. A fire flared to life somewhere close to the tent, and soon the smell of roasting salmon drifted over them, making Ginny's stomach rumble.
"Here you are, Griphook, Gornuk," said the same weary voice. Ginny nudged Hermione and mouthed, Goblins! and Hermione nodded.
The goblins thanked the men in English, and the sounds of chewing could vaguely be heard until another member of the group spoke.
"How long have you all been on the run?" he asked, and Harry frowned, almost as though he recognized the voice.
"Oh, I dunno...six or seven weeks, maybe," the weary voice answered. "I'm Muggle-born, see, and I worked at the Ministry for awhile, but that Runcorn bloke got my family tree examined. I was halfway to Azkaban when I managed to Stun the bloke taking me there and get away on his broom. I ran into Griphook not too long after and joined up with Gornuk just a couple weeks ago. You?"
Harry poked Hermione, drawing Ginny's attention as well. He mouthed a name that Ginny couldn't make out, but Hermione's eyes widened and she nodded. Ginny poked Hermione and looked at her questioningly. She mouthed the name again, and this time, Ginny caught it. Dirk Cresswell, former member of the Goblin Liaison office at the Ministry of Magic.
"Well, I refused to register as a Muggle-born when they asked. Knew it was only a matter of time, so when I heard there were Death Eaters in the area I took off. My wife'll be fine, she's pureblood."
"Ted Tonks," Harry murmured quietly. Ron punched him on the shoulder to shut him up.
"What about you, kid?" Dirk Cresswell asked. "Muggle-born?"
"I dunno," the voice of Dean Thomas replied. "My dad left my mum when I was a kid, and I've no proof he was a wizard."
There was a short silence before Ted Tonks spoke again. "Griphook, Gornuk, why are you on the run? Last I heard it, the goblins were working for You-Know-Who."
"This is a wizard's war," rasped one of them back. "We take no sides. When Gringotts was removed from the hands of the goblins and I was asked to perform duties that did not befit my station, I left, for I recognize no Wizarding master."
The other goblin muttered something in Gobbledegook, and both of the goblins laughed.
"What's the joke?" Dean asked.
"He said there are things wizards don't recognize either," Dirk replied, "but I'm missing something here..."
"So is Severus Snape," laughed a goblin with a higher voice, "though he knows it not."
"What are you talking about?"
"I had my revenge before I left," the higher-voiced goblin replied.
"Didn't manage to lock him up in a high-security vault, did you?" asked Ted Tonks.
"The sword would not have helped him if I did!"
"I don't get it," Dean said.
"Did you hear about the kids who tried to steal Gryffindor's sword from the headmaster's office at Hogwarts?" Dirk asked.
"Nah, wasn't it the Prophet, was it?" Ted Tonks replied.
"Definitely not. Couple of kids managed to get into the office and smashed open the glass case and took the sword. They got caught as they were trying to smuggle it back down the stairs."
"How'd you hear about this?" Dean asked.
"I'm good friends with old Augusta Longbottom. Her grandson and his crazy girlfriend were two of the kids who tried to steal it."
Ginny's heart skipped a beat. Neville and Luna...what on earth were they up to?
"Anyways," the lower-voiced goblin continued, "Snape decided the sword wasn't safe where it was and relocated it to Gringotts with the help of some of his Death Eater friends. The only problem is, that sword is a fake."
"I see," Ted Tonks said. "And I take it you did not trouble the Death Eaters with this information?"
"I saw no reason to," the goblin replied, and now they all laughed. Harry and Hermione were staring at each other, both of their eyes wide.
When the laughter outside finally abated, the only conversation that followed was the decision of where to camp that night. Ginny pulled the Extendable Ear out and turned to Harry. "Explain."
"That sword...that's not the real sword," he said. "Dumbledore wanted to leave me the real sword, which means it has to be valuable in destroying the Horcruxes somehow," he pointed out.
"Don't you remember your second year?" Hermione asked. "You stabbed a Basilisk in the mouth with it, and goblin metal only takes in that which makes it stronger! It's impregnated with basilisk venom, which means-"
"It can destroy Horcruxes!" Harry said excitedly. "That's why Dumbledore left it to me!"
"But where is it?" Ginny asked, and the tent fell silent. The excited looks on Harry's and Hermione's faces faded.
"I don't know," Harry said. "It had to be somewhere he knew I'd find it."
"Hogsmeade?" Ginny asked, but Harry shook his head.
"Snape would be able to search Hogsmeade, and Dumbledore wouldn't want him to find it," Harry replied.
"But Dumbledore trusted Snape," Ginny reminded him.
"Not enough to tell him where the real sword was!" Harry objected. "Which means it must be..."
Ginny, Hermione, and Harry all stared at each other, each wracking their brains for a place the sword might be. Ginny could think of none that Snape wouldn't know of, and from the looks on their faces, neither could Harry and Hermione.
"It had to be somewhere far away from Hogsmeade," Harry said, half to himself. "What do you reckon, Ron? Ron?"
The three of them looked around, and finally Ginny spotted Ron lying on his bunk, looking rather stony.
"Ron?" she asked cautiously, knowing something was wrong.
"Oh, remembered me, have you?" he asked, and his strained voice told Ginny all she needed to know. "Well, great for you. Carry on, I wouldn't want to ruin your fun."
Ginny had half a mind to do just that, but before she could, Harry spoke.
"What's the problem, Ron?"
"There isn't one," Ron said in that strained voice. "Not according to you, at least."
"Well obviously you've got one, so spit it out," Ginny said, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one side.
"Fine," Ron snapped, getting up to his feet. He looked mean, completely unlike himself. "I'll spit it out. But don't expect me to jump up and down just because there's another damn thing we've got to find. Just add it to the list of stuff you don't know."
"I don't know?" Harry replied, and Ginny heard the anger building in his voice. Several plunks on the canvas told her it had started to rain.
"I'm not exactly having the time of my life here," Ron snapped, "freezing my backside off every night and not sleeping because of that baby, with my arm all mangled and nothing to eat. I guess it was too much to hope that we'd have actually accomplished something after a few weeks of this."
"Ron," Hermione said, so quietly that Ron pretended not to hear her over the steadily increasing rain on the canvas.
"I thought you knew what you signed up for," Harry said.
"I thought I did, too," Ron replied.
"Well, if you were under the impression we'd be staying in five-star hotels, eating gourmet meals, finding a Horcrux every other day and we'd be back to your Mum by Christmas, then I guess you didn't know what you signed up for!" Harry said, his voice rising.
"Well, I just thought you knew what you were doing!" Ron yelled back. "I thought we'd actually have accomplished something after running around for a few weeks, I thought you'd actually have a plan-"
"Ronald!" Ginny said, sharply, feeling a spark of anger ignite in herself, too. "In case you haven't noticed, we have found a Horcrux!"
"And we're about as close to it as destroying the others-nowhere effing near, in other words!" he yelled at her. James awoke and started fussing, but Ginny didn't move.
"Take off the locket, Ron," Hermione said, her voice high and nervous. "You wouldn't be saying this if you'd been wearing it all day-"
"Yes, he would," Harry snapped. "I know you're all disappointed in me for not having a good enough plan, I've seen all of you talking behind my back-"
"Harry," Hermione said, but Ginny interrupted.
"So I can't even have a conversation with either of them without you suspecting it's about you? I can't even talk to Hermione if I'm on my period? I can't talk to Ron just because I want to? He's my brother, Harry, and my world does not revolve around you!"
"Don't lie!" Ron yelled back, over James' loud cries. "You've said you've wished we'd found a little more too-"
"Well, maybe I am, but I'm sure putting up with it a hell of alot better than you are!" Ginny yelled back, purposefully avoiding Harry's eyes as she went over to rock James' cradle. She tried to calm down as she stared at her son's face, but it was hard. The excitement from only a few moments ago was gone, and she could feel their group splintering apart.
"Why are you still here?" Harry asked, his voice quieter but still strained.
"Search me," Ron replied, his tone also quieter but still full of anger.
"Then go home," Harry snapped.
"Maybe I will!" Ron was yelling again, and this time he took a step toward Harry. Ginny, forgetting all about James, who had quieted down a little, stood up. "Don't you even care what they said about Luna and Neville? He could have tortured them, or worse, Merlin only knows-"
"I don't think any of the teachers would have let them-"
"I get it, you don't care what happens to them! Well, I do, all right-"
"Ron, stop it!" Hermione said, forcing her way between the two boys. "Take the locket off, calm down, stop this madness-"
Ron shoved her out of the way and took another step toward Harry. Ginny took several steps forward as well. "I guess it's all right for you and Hermione, isn't it, with no family to worry about-"
"My family is DEAD!" Harry roared.
"And mine could be headed the same way!"
"Then GO! Get out of here, to back to Mummy-"
Ron launched himself at Harry and they wrestled briefly for a moment. As Ginny ran towards them, she was reminded briefly of the time Ron had attacked Harry when he first found out Ginny was pregnant with James. The darkness of the situation had been there even then, she realized sadly.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Hermione was yelling, tears streaming down her face. Ginny could tell she was at her breaking point.
"STOP IT NOW!" Ginny yelled, shoving each of them roughly by the shoulder. Somehow, they stumbled apart. "This is ridiculous! We are a team, we're friends, we should not be fighting-"
"A team, are we?" Ron asked, breathing heavily. "I don't think so."
He ripped the Horcrux off his head and picked up his rucksack, which was sitting nearby, then turned to Hermione.
"Are you coming, or are you staying?" he asked, and his voice was so quiet they could barely hear it over James, who was screaming again.
"I-I'm staying, Ron, we-we promised we'd help, and-"
"I get it. You choose him," Ron spat, and then he turned and stormed out into the night. Ginny stared at the flap for a moment and then followed him.
The rain was pouring down, and it soaked her instantly, but she kept going, following her brother. He had just made it to the edge of the protective enchantments when she caught up with him.
"So is that it? You're just leaving?" she asked.
"Shut up," he yelled. "You don't know what it's like!"
"No, I don't know, Ron, because you're being too big of an idiot to tell me!" Ginny yelled back, furious with him. "If you would just tell us why this is such a big deal, we could help-"
"It's that damn Horcrux!" he yelled. "It-it gets inside my brain and-and I hate it, but they make me wear it and-"
And much to Ginny's surprise, Ron sat down on the wet, mucky ground, his rucksack still strapped to his back, buried his face in his arms, and started to cry.
"Ron-Ron, what-what is it?" Ginny asked, crouching next to him, completely shocked. She could remember the last time she'd seen her brother cry.
"The Horcrux," he said, raising his head and wiping his nose on his jacket. The rain streamed down his face, sticking his hair to his head and mixing with his tears. "It-it affects me more than it affects any of you, I'm telling you-it gets inside my head and it gives me all these thoughts about turning you and Harry and Hermione and James in-and I fight it, because I know I can't do that but-every 36 hours or whatever it just starts again."
"We have to get rid of it," Ginny said. "I knew it would have this effect, I knew it-physical contact doesn't help, my arse."
"But what can we do with it? We can't lose it, Harry is right about that," Ron pointed out.
"We can keep it with the Sneakoscope or something. I'm sure Hermione's got some type of box we could use. But we're not wearing it any more. Come on, let's get out of this rain, and we can deal with it later." She held out a hand, and helped him up.
"Wait, Ginny-I'm-I'm sorry," he said. "I was being a jerk, and I had the Horcrux on, but that's no excuse. But I really am sorry."
"I know," Ginny said. "This isn't the first time we've ever fought, and it won't be the last. But I don't think it's me you need to apologize to."
Ron nodded, then cautiously opened his arms. Ginny walked right into them and hugged her older brother tightly, ignoring the cold and wet and just being grateful that he was still here with them. Finally, she pulled away and smiled at him.
"Come on, let's go apologize."
I know this is a really touchy part for people in Deathly Hallows, so I hope I did it justice, or at least made it seem convincible. Anyways, leave a review, please!
Lovelovelove -D-