11

Disclaimer: I do not own HP.

A/N: Okay, so over a year later I'm posting the last 3 chapters. I forgot that I never finished it. I have the original plot for all the rest of the chapters so that's what I'm writing. I'm trying not to let Deathly Hallows influence it, but I know that it already has a little bit. Just want you to know that I'll try to pretend like it doesn't exist. Honestly, a lot of my predictions happened in the book so they are kinda alike anyway. I hope you enjoy the end. I don't know long it will take to finish but I'll try. I'll prolly speed it up a lot too so we can all move on.

Chapter Twelve: Always Three Steps Behind

Grimmauld Place was quiet…and dark. Harry knew no one had been there in months. He took a deep breath and inhaled some dust. He looked around the room. How could everything still be in the same spot as it was before? Even the dust lay in the same spots. He walked through the kitchen. There were some mugs in the sink. They were crusty and starting to mold.

They walked upstairs. Harry felt as if it was the summer before 5th year again. It was the same house with the same things and the same smells. The only difference was that Sirius wasn't there. That made it a whole different house. There was no way it'd ever be the shame house.

"Harry…" Hermione said, bringing him away from his thoughts "where would the locket be?"

"I have no idea." Harry sighed.

"Well, let's start looking." Ron said as the walked into a room.

(sc)

Molly was surprised to see a pile of scrolls on her kitchen table. The men surrounding it were so caught up in their conversation they didn't notice her entrance.

"…There must be a way to trace this action, some kind of link." Charlie spoke.

"I'm telling you they seem to be unrelated," Dedalus replied.

"But it just makes no sense…Death Eaters aren't know to kill their own." Lupin replied.

"What are you talking about?" Molly piped in.

Everyone turned to look at her. They were all there—the entire Order in her kitchen. She looked from Dedalus, Emmeline, Elphias, Mudungus, Dedalus, Hestia, Tonks, Lupin, Charlie, Moody and Arthur. "Well?"

"There have been some incidents in the last few days. It started with small break-ins and moved to, most recently, a fire. It overtook one of the greatest hangouts known to Death Eaters," Moody explained.

Molly sighed and shook her head. "Just let it go."

They all looked at her. "What? Molly dear…."

"Just let it go! Who cares if they kill each other? That's less to attack my family." Molly looked at all of them and walked away.

(sc)

"This is hopeless!" Harry exclaimed. "How are we supposed to find a locket in a house of this size? No one would know where to find it."

"Your wrong Harry," Ron smiled. "I can think of someone who would."

"Who?"

"Kreacher," Ron sighed. Harry smiled at him.

"Ron, you're a bloody genius." Everyone smiled at him as they followed Harry downstairs.

"I always knew I was. I kept trying to tell you. Ah! Who put that stair there?"

(sc)

The moon was high when about twenty figures in black appeared in the abandoned house. "Godric's Hollow…I don't see how anyone could live in such filth of a place," Narcissa commented as they Apparated into the room.

The Death Eaters split up around the house. They tore through it like it was nothing, leaving things in piles and pieces as they went. Snape himself even went to work looking for some kind of clue.

"How do we even know they were here?" Bellatrix snapped.

"Look….there's old cereal in the kitchen. They were here," a death eater yelled.

"Were…but where are they now?" Narcissa asked.

"Your little gnome was wrong Severus," Bellatrix smiled.

"He wasn't wrong. They were here!"

"Well they're not now!" Bellatrix bellowed back. "What do you think the Dark Lord will have to say about your failure?!" With that she Disapparated, leaving everyone in her dust. Snape looked at Draco and the other Death Eaters and they all Disapparated after him.

(sc)

Kreacher appeared before them a few minutes later. "Kreacher was busy working at the place the master sent him, nasty little thing he is. Why is he bringing him back to his Mistress' house? And why are the mudblood and the dirty blood traitor standing by Kreacher's spot?" Why does he call him away? Can't have already done enough damage…why did you bring Kreacher here? He doesn't want to be in this house that has a master against the Lord."

Harry looked at his friends and rolled his eyes. "Kreacher! There is a locket that Regulus gave to his mother…I want you to get it for me." Harry said to him. Kreacher stopped his mumbling and stared at him.

"Kreacher does not know where Master's things are. Kreacher watched Master throw things away, and there was nothing he could do. Hateful beings, wrecking my Mistresses noble home..." He stared at Harry hatefully.

"Kreacher, we know you took things and hid them here in the cupboard. We saw them in there before! Now where are they?" Harry asked irritably. Kreacher peered into the cupboard, which was now empty.

"Kreacher does not know what you are talking about," he said dramatically.

"Well, clearly they're not there anymore," said Ron.

"Why does the blood traitor speak to Kreacher?" Kreacher muttered under his breath.

"Kreacher, what did you do with the things we were throwing away?" Harry asked more forcefully.

"Kreacher did not do anything with the things you threw away. Wretched trespassers! Trashing my mistress' house!"

"Kreacher! I command you to get the locket that I speak of! You know where it is and you better retrieve it or your punishment will be far worse than you'd imagine!!" Harry yelled at him. He just looked back at Harry.

"I can not do what you say. I will not." Harry looked at the others. "I can not touch that. It is too powerful. It will kill Kreacher. Kreacher can not touch the master's locket. It was given by the late Master…the only one who was not a failure to his name. Cannot touch…cannot ever touch…"

Harry ignored the comment that he knew was directed to hurt him. "Kreacher, I order this. I am master," Harry looked at him and the fear showed in his eyes. "If Kreacher can not touch it, then you will take us to it." Kreacher and Harry stared at each other and Kreacher took a step away after a hateful look. Everyone followed him.

(sc)

"Remus, would you please?" Tonks asked fiercely.

"What?" He looked at her. She looked at Arthur, who also looked confused.

"Wizards." She scoffed as she walked out of the kitchen. Molly was sitting in the living room, looking at the pictures in the albums. Tonks sat down beside her.

"Look at my little Ronnie," she pointed at the picture. "This was his third Christmas. He just got that new spider toy. He loved it."

"What's that a picture?" Tonks asked, pointing to the picture beside it.

"That was Fred and George turned it on and pushed the button and it climbed all over him. I remember that it started spinning a web in his hair; he didn't like it after that." Molly laughed. "Ginny was only two but she stomped on it. She always went after what she wanted and knew what she hated." She paused. "That's the first day she went to school; I had all the kids and Harry and Hermione in this one. Things were so different; that was the only time I've seen her really scared."

"She knows what she's doing. They'll be okay Molly. Harry's a smart boy; he's strong and he'll keep them safe."

"But he's a boy, Tonks! He's still a boy. Harry may be strong and smart but he's still a boy. Everyone seems to forget that." Molly said.

"He's got Hermione, Ron and Ginny…They'll take of him, of each other. They always do." Tonks said in a reassuring tone.

"They've faced so much, given up so much, lost so much—especially Harry. I just wonder how much they'll have to give up and lose before this is all over?" Molly asked.

Tonks looked at her and sighed. "I wonder that too. And I wish I knew."

(sc)

Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Ron followed Kreacher into a hallway they had never seen before. Kreacher stopped and looked to his right. "This is where you told Kreacher to take you; you are here."

"Where is here Kreacher?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, this is a hallway. There's not even any doors, just pictures you Bugger," Ron snapped.

"Things hide where you do not see because you do not have eyes when you look. Kreacher is going back to school," he said and then disapparated with a SNAP.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked.

"It means it's hidden in this hallway. Maybe in a floorboard or behind a picture. We just need to look," Hermione smiled assuringly and began to remove pictures from the wall. Everyone watched her remove the first and then joined in the search.

(sc)

"Why are we always three steps behind them? I must have Potter! Do you understand me? We need to lure him. And I know just how to do it. Take something precious to him. Take as many as you can. Start with those closest to him that are farther away." A smile came across Voldemort's lips.

Bellatrix spoke up. "Who, master, would you like us to get first?"

"Do I have to instruct you fools in every detail? Whoever you can—take them all. One by one we will destroy the boy's friends until nothing stands in the way of me and him." Voldemort slithered to Snape. "This is where your years of spying come in hand. You will go and help. Starting with his safe haven."

With no other words the group, which was now down to four, Disapparated.

(sc)

"I found something! Here," Ginny yelled. The other three rushed toward her. The small black door that now faced them held within it the possibility of hope.

"It doesn't look like there is a key or anything," Ron said as he put his hand on the handle. Before Hermione could say anything to warn him he bellowed. "Bloody hell!!"

"What happened?" Hermione asked, moving toward him. He lifted up his hand to show her. It was burnt. Almost completely red from the heat and what looked like, blood from finger to palm.

"Oh, Ron!" She pointed her wand and muttered some incantations. The bleeding stopped but his hand was blistering and swelling, still red. "It's got to be in there. We need to find a way to—" Before she could finish the sentence, Ginny had opened it.

"How did you do that?" Harry asked.

She looked at them and froze. "I didn't use my hand, I used my wand. Common sense really." Ron shot her a look and they all moved back to the safe in the wall. Harry gasped as he looked inside. There was something that shined in there.

(sc)

It was night. There was no wind, no stars in the sky. It was as if everything knew something was happening and was too afraid to move. There was a muggle in a car across the street, but he was asleep. There was no need to wake him; they'd be in and out before anyone noticed anything.

The yard was very tidy and the grass clean cut. The trees and bushes seemed to be perfectly shaped around the yard. Even in the darkness one could see the perfection and the colors of the petunias under the window beside the mums and the pansies. There weren't any lilies though. No garden was complete without their beauty.

Inside they were surely sleeping. A noise of that caliber and volume could only be snoring. There was a crash as he looked at her. She knocked over the lamp. She shrugged her shoulders; she didn't care. Luckily they didn't wake up. It would have been disaster. They were a mission and she couldn't ruin it. She knew the consequences if they failed again would be irrevocable.

He pointed with his wand to the other room and one of the men went that direction. He looked down at the sleeping people. This would be hard. He was a big man. He gestured the other man to his side. The girl was in place beside the sleeping woman. In a flash of bright light they were all gone. Mission accomplished.

The muggle that was sleeping in his car snored loudly and woke himself up. He looked left. There were four people standing in the yard, big cape-like cloaks on. Two of them disappeared. Then, a few seconds later, reappeared. The muggle man rolled down his window so he could hear what they were saying.

"They aren't there. There's no one in there," one man said.

"What do you mean? How? This is bad. Quickly, we must go inform the others," the shorter man said. Then all four of them disappeared. The muggle rubbed his eyes. He had to be asleep still. People can't just disappear like that. Yes, he was asleep.

(sc)

"Oh wow. Harry, we've really hit the jackpot. The odds of this happening are astronomical." Hermione said.

"It's not that odd. It just means Remus did a lot of work before Voldemort killed him off."

"Yes, but Harry, a list. A list of where he thought things could have been hidden. He knew all along. I wondered what happened to make him want to kill Voldemort so badly."

"Oh, gee, Hermione, maybe the fact that he was a ruthless killer who sent his brother to jail falsely?" Ron smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Ronald seriously, he didn't even like Sirius."

"No, no he did. Sure, in theory he didn't but Sirius was his brother. I can't stand Percy. I'd still mess up anyone that messed with him—we all would, no matter what he's done. Blood runs thick Hermione. Percy might forget that, but he's still our git of a brother," Ron said assuredly.

Hermione shrugged it off and went back to reading the list, adding notes of her own on another sheet of parchment. "Well mate, we have a locket. How do we destroy it?"

"I don't know. Hermione?" Harry asked. "Hermione?"

"What is it?"

"How do we destroy it?" Ron pointed to the locket on the table. She said nothing.

"You have to destroy it with something more powerful, something that can destroy the soul forever," Ginny spoke from the corner of the room.

"How do you know that?" Ron snapped at her.

"I just do," she retreated into the kitchen.

"Well, what can we use?" Harry asked Hermione.

"I would suppose a…I have no idea. Let's see. You used the fang to do the diary. If only we knew what Dumbledore used when he destroyed the ring. I think we'll just have to wait on destroying it, Harry. Until we know." Harry nodded. The idea of having Voldemort's soul with him was disheartening, even nauseating.

(sc)

She was sleeping in her bed. Her father barely let her come back to school this year but she told him it would be fine. The woman stood above her bed. She looked so peaceful. Her long blonde hair was free all around her as she slept. The woman hoped she'd stay asleep. A flash of bright light and the bed was empty, she was gone.

(sc)

"Let's go over the list. According to these thoughts, they are all in existence. He only has six though. Nagini the snake, and the cup are both on here. We already got the diary and the ring. The locket is there…"

"Any idea of what the Ravenclaw item is?" Harry asked.

"Well, it's kind of a long shot because he doesn't give a specific. It just says 'it is found in the portrait.' I don't know what that is unless I'm looking at it. And it hangs in Hogwarts so I have no idea. We know the snake is with him, getting them apart is what will be hard. We need to find out what the last thing is. And we need to find the cup, that is our next purpose." Hermione stated.

"The cup? That could be anywhere Hermione. You know how many cups there are?" Ron asked her.

"I think we should focus on figuring out what the last thing is rather than the cup." Ginny said as she sat down at the table.

"Why? We need to find it," Ron said.

"I know. I just mean, we don't even know what to look for with the other. We might want to think about it. I wouldn't worry about the cup." She left the room again. Ron shook his head, as if to ignore her.

A little later Ginny returned to the room, unseen by the three of them. "I wonder what it looks like even. It must be a special cup." Ron said. Harry was about to reply when Ginny interrupted.

"Stop talking about the cup that's already been destroyed! Worry about the other thing!"

"What do you mean it's already been destroyed? How do you know that?" Ron asked, getting up.

"What?" Ginny gasped.

"Ginny, how do you know it's been destroyed?"

"Because I just do. Don't worry about it."

"If you know something just tell us." Harry said to her. She stared at him, their gaze never parting. "Ginny, what aren't you telling me?"

"I did it. I destroyed the cup."

"You?" Ron said aghast.

"Oh, don't act so surprised Ron, honestly." She sat down. "I haven't been completely honest with you Harry. There's a lot you don't know actually."

"Like what?"

"It's a long story."

"We've got all night," Harry said. She looked at her friends. "Okay, I'll tell you everything."

(sc)

The three men walked into the room. Only three beds were filled tonight. The other two, as suggested, belonged to Harry Potter and the Weasley boy. The men separated themselves among the three full beds. All three boys were sleeping. The shorter man sighed. This was the only way. He pushed his hair out of his face and nodded. A bright light filled the room and the beds were empty.