A/N: Thanks to each one of you reading this story.
All Characters are the sole property of JKR.
Chapter 42: The Quinte-Feuille Cottage
The announcement came in the late hours of the night, and within minutes, frenzied but strictly instructed quills went to work to make the announcement public.
Ex-Potions Master, Severus Snape named Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Not a word about his dark past, not a word about the underlying hands of evil that, with one single move, took over the destinies of the hundred little minds that were the future of the wizardkind.
He would have been here sooner but there were basics to take care of first- claim the office of the one great man who had given him a reason to live after everything he lived for, had been snatched away by the same son-of-devil he called his master now.
And it was there, as the new Headmaster of a school that was to be a breeding ground for hundreds of other Bellatrixes and Pettigrews, that he had received his next orders. But not from the man who called himself Lord. This order came from none other than the master strategist himself –Albus Dumbledore or rather the portrait of Dumbledore, one that stood right behind the Headmaster's desk.
He looked at the secret building squeezed between two ignorant muggle houses and waited in the shadows of the trees that lined the park opposite. Even through the heavily draped windows of the living room on the first floor, faint beams of light escaped out to fall on the deserted streets in front of Number 12, Grimmauld Place.
"You know the secret entrance, Severus. That will still allow you in no matter what protections they might have put up. But careful, they will not take to your appearance well."
The entrance had been created almost a year and a half ago by the dead Headmaster himself, and although he had not really understood the significance of the hidden door back at that time, he had allowed himself a satisfied smirk imagining the face of the previous owner, his nemesis- Sirius Black. Now, however, he realised that this was only one more piece put in its place by the great wizard himself to aid in his master plan. He had seen more than any one of them, and he knew much more.
He moved further back in the shadows, his long flapping cloak not making a sound as he stood watching the faint beam of light- waiting for it to disappear.
...
The nightmares were back.
Ron hated the route his head was taking him towards. He hated the doubts that lingered in his mind, just below the surface, and the mistrust that was breeding inside his heart. He hated that voice that jeered inside his head whenever they sat together, the voice that laughed and taunted how he was chosen to be the scapegoat in this one great adventure. It laughed at him for being the expendable Albus Dumbledore had chosen to accompany the two greatest Hogwarts students of their generation – one the brightest, the other the most famed and the prophesied saviour.
Of course, he was chosen to be the guard, it said, the one to ensure their safety and if need be, the one to lay down his life to save the others. Who else would be chosen for this if not him, the one person with a brood of other, more important siblings; the one who would be missed the least by his family –by his mother , the one, mediocre Ronald Weasley? The one who would gladly lay down his life for his best mate and now for the girl Dumbledore had intentionally put under his care to ensure she entrapped his heart enough?
And, if by some massive stroke of luck, they did manage to win this, who would get the credit other than the famous Harry Potter? Hermione Granger, yes for sure she would get her fair share of accolades but what would he get? Scoffing? The title of the weakest link in the trio; the one who had perhaps pulled the other two brilliant minds down...
What did he stand to gain? – Nothing.
What did he stand to lose? - Everything.
Only he had left a family behind to choose this mission. It was his family, the ones marked as blood traitors. He might not mean much to them but they sure meant a lot to him. It could easily be anyone from his family- his brothers, his parents or his little sister who would be taken as a captive, asked in exchange for either Harry or Hermione or perhaps both. And what would he do if that happened? Who would he choose to save?
If they lost this war, his entire family would be the first to be slaughtered for his 'mistakes'. If they won – they would bear the brunt of his 'fortune and fame hunting.' Either way, it was his loss.
And he stood to lose her.
She will choose someone better. You must be blind not to see it- said the voice every time she smiled at him. She lies when she says she is shy about intimacy – she lies because she has shared it with others- Krum and perhaps even Malfoy. She says she is shy because she doesn't want it displayed in front of Harry. How will she play the same innocent card with him otherwise? You are a fool Ronald – a blind fool. She might be sharing it with Harry even now, every day that you are together under one roof- while you sleep, while they pretend to discuss other important things...hissed the voice in his ears when she lowered her lashes.
"NO! Harry won't ever do that to me, she won't either!" he convinced himself silently each time and the voice laughed, an ugly, bone-chilling sort of laugh while the others looked at him in confusion, and then at each other- something unspoken passing between them. And he hated those minutes when he almost believed it – the voice.
It was another night of those dreams that never went away. And this time, he had woken up soaking wet in that empty room that was devoid even of the other occupant, the portrait. Hermione had taken it down a few days back trying to coax Senior Black into passing a message to McGonagall. But as far as Ron knew, the obnoxious ex-Headmaster had so far refused to relent.
Hermione...She was the reason for his present distress, or rather, her thoughts were.
He left the room because today the nightmare was about the moments he had shared with Hermione in his father's tool shed. Only this time it was not a dilapidated shed but a posh gazebo in a mansion, and this time, the person wasn't him but Victor Krum, her one-time suitor.
He had left the door open and gone down the steps as silently as he could towards the living room, trying every second to wipe out the image of a semi-naked Hermione lying down on a marble bench, her curls spread around her head as she moaned in pleasure while the familiar form of the Bulgarian Seeker lay on top of her, his face buried between her breasts.
He lit the candles with a swish of his wand flooding the enormous room with light as if that would somehow wipe out the darkness in his heart. Flopping down on the ancient couch, he leant back drawing in deep breaths to ease the pain in his chest. He lay there for longer than he knew, slowly going through the events of his past, contradicting each and every accusation the voice spurned against Harry and Hermione with memories of his own; memories of their times together. He would not believe a word of what it said, of what it tried to convince him.
Finally, when it was long enough, he pulled himself up, convincing his heart to go back to his room again. There was no point in troubling the others by falling asleep here. But that task was a lot easier said than done. Ron knew he was just whiling away the minutes as he first moved to stand near the set up chess board contemplating on playing a match with himself, and then, moved away to stand near the window. The long, dark drapes were pulled close. No one who did not know of the existence of house would be able to see him so he pulled the curtains away slightly to look at the empty street ahead.
And that is when he saw the figure.
It was a brief moment, but that was enough. Ron knew that movement; he had spent years watching that familiar motion of limbs – the bat like fraying of a pitch black cloak. Terror and hate, in equal measure, engulfed his insides, pushing away all doubts that had been trying to pull him back so far.
He left the candles alit and rushed outside the room, moving as fast as his sleep-deprived legs would carry him. He knocked on her door first mainly because it was on the same floor. She answered on the second knock,
"Ron?" she asked groggily before taking in the paleness of his face.
"He is here." He managed and before the confused look on her face disappeared, pulled her out of the room.
"Where is the bag?"
"In there." She indicated the bedside table, still looking a little lost.
"Is it packed?"
"Yes."
"Wand?" he inquired striding inside quickly, picking and pocketing the said article while she stood at the door watching him.
"Y-Yes." She said pulling out the wood from her jeans pocket as if for proof and shoving it back.
"Come on," he called as soon as he was done and pulled her along without further ado. He practically ran up the stairs almost dragging her behind him.
"Ron! Wha-"
"Snape is outside." He huffed while they flew up the steps and felt her grip his hand harder at his words.
She let out a sharp cry, finally catching on with the urgency and matching steps with his longer legs as best as she could manage.
"How?!" she panted in a shocked whisper.
Ron did not answer but on and on they climbed up the innumerable steps till the third floor, bumping into each other and hitting the walls occasionally at the corners. He heard her cry out softly as she bumped against the sharp edge of the railing but she didn't stop and he didn't slow down either.
"No clue. Not sure if he has his friends with him either." He said huffed breathlessly. They had to get out of this place and they had to do it fast.
"We have to leave!" she managed between heavy breaths herself, speaking his thoughts aloud as they moved up the stairs faster than before.
They were only feet away from Harry's room when she stopped suddenly and pulled him back.
"Ron!" she called and he almost slid down being pulled back without warning.
"Don't tell him it's Snape." She stated urgently. "He'll want to stay and fight but we are not prepared." She reasoned in hushed whispers and he paused a minute before he nodded.
"He's going to hate it if we lie-"
"We have to leave, Ron!" she admonished. "The last thing we can risk is getting caught."
"Alright." He replied, fighting to listen to her sound reasoning rather than giving in to his innate desire of facing the two faced bastard. But the situation called for them to live today to fight tomorrow. Taking her hand in his once again, he pushed open Harry's door without knocking.
"Harry!" they called in unison as Ron bent over his sleeping form and shook him awake urgently. The moleskin pouch, his wand and glasses lay on the table next to the bed. Harry woke up rather quickly and pulled on his glasses on instinct.
"Ron?! Hermione?! What's happening?"
"Death Eaters outside, Harry! We've got to leave!" she said with a fleeting sideways glance at Ron. She wasn't exactly lying.
In a matter of seconds, the boy was up. "Kreacher!" he called while tying his shoelaces with utmost speed. The elf materialised in a minute and bowed low, without any hint of surprise at the strange behaviour of his master.
"Leave for Hogwarts and stay hidden there along with the other elves, just like I told you, alright?" Harry instructed urgently. Then, pulling the moleskin pouch and picking up his wand, he moved closer to the others even as the elf disappeared with a loud crack.
"Where are we going? G-Granger Forest?" Hermione inquired tentatively as the three of them held hands in the silent and dark room.
"NO!" Ron spat aloud before he knew, suddenly feeling a sharp pang of fear gripping him hard. He focused on breathing in deeply and concentrating with all his might on the present. Something dark and gloomy seemed to have gripped his heart within a span of minutes. He eyed the pouch hanging from Harry's neck and gulped down a feeling of extreme unease.
"No, they are sure to know you are with us." He told her. Snape would know. "We need some other place."
She paused and looked at the boys as precious minutes trickled by. Ron could almost hear his heart thumping inside him while Harry fidgeted next to him impatiently. He ears were trained on the unnaturally silent surrounding, waiting for the gentle opening of a door or the loud crack of a wall being blasted away. He assumed that the Death Eater would be more interested in taking them alive. In that case, Snape would be more discrete and would likely resort to using some of those hundreds of spells that would have been illegal under the old Ministry rules.
"Come on, Hermione!" urged Harry impatiently, pulling him back to the present.
She glanced once at both of them, grasping his hand a little more tightly. Ron closed his eyes momentarily to remove the nightmarish images that flashed in front of his eyes at her touch.
"Trust me and don't leave my hand." She said just before the familiar tug of apparition drew them away.
...
They stood in the middle of a vast open meadow; at least that was what Ron could make out in the darkness. It felt a little unnerving and exposed to be out in the open after having spent so many days cloistered inside the Grimmauld Place.
"Where are we?" He asked in a guarded whisper while concentrating straight ahead. Was that a building? No, more like a small shack that stood right in the middle of...well, nowhere. Either that or the night was much too dark to make out anything.
He turned around towards the girl who had brought them there, waiting for some kind of an answer, but Hermione was already busy. She had flipped out her wand and was waving it in front of them in unfamiliar motions.
He glanced towards his best mate instead. Now that his eyes were accustomed to the darkness he could make out Harry's general form, and even without being able to actually see his expression, Ron knew what had to be done. Turning around with his back towards Hermione, he held his wand poised, knowing by instinct that Harry had done the same on the other end.
It took a few more minutes before she spoke up.
"Come..." she called out to both of them and gently and gracefully began making her way towards the lone structure that stood in front.
The boys followed in her wake casting feeble lights from the tip of their wands to illuminate the path right ahead of them. With every step he took, Ron expected something or someone to leap out from somewhere. But the silence of the night was only broken by three pairs of muted footsteps that fell on a narrow strip of the path that was devoid of the thick growth of grass that grew all around them.
Once they were close enough, Ron realised that the structure that had appeared to be a run-down shack was actually a cabin which, surprisingly, looked quite well maintained to be abandoned. Hermione pushed open the door and the candles inside lit up on their own, illuminating a small living quarter that, according to Ron at least, was better furnished than the Gryffindor common room.
Hermione closed the door once all the three had entered, and let out a small sigh which was somewhere between a relief and a groan.
"So far so good," she whispered softly to no one in particular.
"Care to tell us now?" Harry sounded irate but Ron could not blame him completely. The anxiety was killing him too. He noticed, that just like him, Harry too was still standing near the door, wand poised and alert.
Hermione who was slowly and fondly rubbing her palm over the lush settee turned around, sniffed back a tear and rubbed her palm almost consciously at the corner of the eyes.
"There is a lot to explain. You both better sit down." She called softly. Ron turned at the right minute to notice Harry meet his eyes but the boys did as she asked.
He lowered himself down on the second couch that sat opposite to the settee with an ornate centre table between them. Harry joined him and Hermione was the only one who took her seat with enough grace to do justice to their surroundings.
"This is the Quinte-Feuille Cottage... the secret entrance and security point of the Chateau Quinte-Feuille." Her head hung low on her lap and she spoke in a hushed whisper as if reading from a book only she could see. Ron noticed the familiar biting of the lip that usually indicated her anguished state and had almost pulled himself up to sit next to her when she looked up. Her eyes glistened with moisture which she perhaps either didn't know of or didn't care to hide.
"This was my birthday present for coming of age."
A soft gasp escaped his lips.
Next to him Harry let out a familiar sound of surprise. "This property belongs to your family?" he asked.
"Not my family, j-just me." She replied a little uncomfortably. She met Ron's eyes and he could easily make out the discomfort in her voice but she looked away and answered Harry instead.
"Father had this constructed last year." She began with a soft, sad sigh. "They told me about it when I went home for the Easter holidays during the fifth year. Grangers are, I mean, were a little paranoid when it came to security." She gave out a small mirthless chuckle.
"The area around this place is, as expected, warded against Muggles and intruders. And the Chateau itself is rendered invisible. Anyone who manages to even get this far will only be able to see this cottage, but it will appear to be a broken down shack."
"How could we come in without any harm?" he asked aloud remembering how the Granger Mansion had failed to recognise Hermione after her parents' death.
"I know what you are asking, Ron. The Granger Mansion and the vaults are all in Father's name, bound to his magic. I must legally claim the property for me to inherit those. But this one here is bound to my magic; it will recognise me even if the world thinks I am dead. In a way, I am the owner and the Secret Keeper for this place... so far." She added- the last couple of words almost inaudibly.
"Why didn't you bring us here when we escaped from the Burrow?" inquired Harry a little roughly.
"Because I had forgotten about this place, this has less protection than the Manor, and-and I wanted to go home..." she replied while looking away.
"That's alright." He blurted out before Harry questioned her intentions further. He wasn't feeling very good about Harry's attitude. She had saved their life; he had no reason to be short with her.
"So this is where we stay?" he inquired glancing around. It seemed big enough for three people, but the main concern was elsewhere. "What protections are there around this place? Shouldn't we set up some more?"
"Hold on," interrupted Harry.
"How likely are we to be found out here, Hermione? Snape knows you are with us. They will check out every property your family owned." Though he still sounded a little rude for Ron's liking, the logic wasn't something he could deny.
"This is not listed under my father's name. The land belonged to my maternal Grandmother who left it for her grandchild. The location is a family secret. It will not be easy to trace." She offered.
It was difficult to say if Harry was totally convinced but he brought ahead no further questions and Hermione turned towards Ron.
"The Chateau is a much safer bet than the Cottage," she began, once again with the hint of discomfort and Ron decided that there was definitely more to this.
"What is it, Hermione? Speak up. We have to set up those enchantments. You know, they will not give up searching us so easily now that Harry has escaped capture twice."
"I know they won't..."
"So what are you waiting for?" snapped Harry and Hermione looking more agonised than before, flinched at his tone.
"It's the Chateau that is the safest bet we have. This place, as I said, is the Security point for the Chateau. T-The magic linking the two places needs us to- to," she looked between the boys quickly and looked away before finishing her sentence, "assign a guard before we can start residing there..." she finished in a quieter voice.
"Assign a guard? So, what is the problem? We take up guard duties by turn." Quipped Harry in a confused tone but Ron knew this was not so simple. What she was talking about was ancient magic. This was the reason why she hadn't brought them here in the first place; this was the reason why she was so uncomfortable.
"It's not so simple, mate." He replied looking at Hermione who met his eyes at his words. He realised, she knew that he knew.
"I'll do it." He told her.
The shadow of distress disappeared from her eyes to be replaced by horror.
"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?" fumed Harry looking between the two as he banged his hands on his sides.
Ron looked away from Hermione to look at his best mate instead.
"If I am not wrong, it's an ancient form of magic, Harry. I've heard stories from my Grandpa. Earlier, the rich and mighty would secure a house by placing a Security Point ahead of it. A wizard would then be assigned its guard, which meant that he would become the Secret Keeper of this place. But unlike the Fidelius Charm, in this case, the Secret Keeper would make something similar to an Unbreakable Vow which means he would swear on his life not to disclose the location of the property, ever."
"A-And that's not all..." added Hermione guiltily.
"The spell was designed for a person outside the family. It would have to be someone other than the owners of the place, who would themselves be free to pass on the information to their heirs. Furthermore, he would be the assigned guard for every person living in the property, as long as they lived there, in other words, he was responsible for their protection too."
While Harry continued to look at him in shock, Hermione fidgeted in her seat.
"And you are offering to take this up? Are you insane?!" he managed after a few speechless minutes.
"We don't need to stay in the Chateau at all. We three can live here." Hermione declared finally, the discomfort was gone and a strange determination radiated through her.
"I agree." Harry added quickly, "We don't have to do this. Just let's place the protections around the cottage." He added as Hermione nodded in agreement.
The two moved up quickly from their places and made towards the door as Ron continued to remain seated.
"You both are letting emotions rule your judgement." He called aloud and Harry gave out a loud bark of a laugh that almost sounded eerie in their current predicament.
"You are talking about emotions ruling our judgement?! Now I have seen everything." He snickered.
Ron groaned and turned towards his friends, frustrated.
"Happy to have made you laugh, mate, but hear me out!"
"There is nothing to hear you out. We camped in the middle of a forest, Ron! We'll manage quite well here." Hermione said sharply. "Don't make me regret bringing you here." She added in a softer voice.
"Exactly, you brought us here because you knew that the Chateau is our safest bet, you said so yourself!" he retorted angrily.
"Not at the cost of you!" she spat back before taking a back-step, flustered at her own declaration.
He gave her a small smile and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Look, guys, this is really simple. It's really no big deal! I would do it for you anyway." He shrugged. "Or is it that you both don't trust me with your life?" he mocked trying to ease the situation, trying to convince them with a jest.
"I don't trust you not to give up your life to save ours, you prat!" barked Harry, annoyed.
"That's it, mate!" he laughed. "I'd do it anyway if need be. This is just a formality! It will open up more protections which we definitely need. Come on, you two! Hermione, just do it." He urged extending his right hand forward on instinct. She looked torn and guilty and on the verge of tears.
"Wait, I'll do it."
Ron groaned and turned towards Harry exasperatedly.
"No you can't and you won't." He said simply before turning back at Hermione.
"I can and I will." He spat back.
He let out a huge tired sigh. "Look, mate. I know you are the hero, the one great saviour- but trust me, this is not your job." His words were not laced with malice or jealousy, not this time, and he was glad that the voice had not intervened so far. He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, confused at the sudden gush of ill-boding hit his senses. Leaving him much too quickly he looked away.
"We are all fighting for the same goal, but you are the one who can finish this. Not me, not Hermione- you. And you need to be safe till that last piece of Horcrux is dealt with. Let's get this done and get to that blasted Chateau, shall we?"
...
It was a huge property. It almost felt like Hogwarts during Christmas holidays, only it was just the three of them and thankfully a pantry full of food that had been spelled to keep them fresh. Getting the food on the table was a different story, however. Hermione had absolutely no experience with cooking apart from getting a cup of tea or boiling water. He had seen his mum for years, but watching her cook and trying out the same all by himself were two completely different things. Harry was marginally better having had to help his Aunt for years, but his experience was based on Muggle gadgets which the Granger home lacked. All in all, they were making do with burnt toasts, much too lumpy soups and way too charred up sausages. He was the one who was complaining the most.
Ron trudged along the long carpeted passageway, the candles high up on the ceiling lighting up as he walked. How insane was it that this enormous place was her birthday gift. He walked towards the three doors at the far end of the corridor, each of which was an entrance to the room each one of them had taken up. Hers was next to the library- yes this place had one, obviously.
He expected the two of them to be there; that was where they spent most of their days now. At least, that was where he found Harry and Hermione every time he came back from the cottage. He rubbed the cut on his palm absentmindedly. The bleeding would stop in a while, it always did.
He should have expected these ancient enchantments to require some blood to seal the spell, he hadn't. And he hadn't known that he would have to go back to the Cottage every day at least once and offer his blood to a particular stone on the wall that might look like a blank piece in itself but was actually the gateway to the passage that led to the Chateau. The compulsory, daily ritual was a reminder of the oath he had taken and sealed with his blood and the magic that flowed through it.
He was taken aback the first time when the wall had melted away to reveal the pathway- adorned with iron pillars on either side that had flowering vines growing on them to create a canopy overhead, and the huge Victorian building at the end of it, it looked like the drawings in Ginny's old storybooks. It struck him suddenly at that moment that Granger was practically a princess.
He walked quickly.
Today they were to apparate to London to check out the old orphanage site yet again. They had done it once already- the building had long been broken down and housed a dilapidated news press now but Hermione, the one never to leave a stone unturned, had convinced them to go asking around the neighbourhood this time. It was a lame idea according to him but that was the only idea they had. Harry was still keen on visiting the school but ever since they had managed to nick a Prophet while lurking around the Ministry entrance waiting was his dad, and which had an article about the newly appointed Headmaster, the two of them had flat out refused to let him take that chance. Ron was sure that if they were anywhere else, and Harry could leave without Ron having to open the passageway for him, the Boy-Who-Lived would have surely left under the cloak.
"RON!"
Her screams broke the silence of the place and he rushed ahead, wand held firmly in his hand and heart throbbing madly in his chest. Were they located?! How was that even possible?!
He pushed open the heavy oak door, and right there, on the lush green carpet, lay Harry with his head on Hermione's lap. For a minute, he paused as anger and jealousy flooded his veins but then he noticed something else.
Hermione was sobbing madly and shaking Harry by the shoulders. But she need not have done that, for Harry was shaking wildly himself.
Ron approached him quickly, dropping the wand next to him as Harry turned around getting away from Hermione and lying on the floor, hands pressed on his temple.
"R-Ron?!" she asked through scared, teary eyes. He had to pull in quite a bit of self-control not to snap at her- the image of Harry on her lap burning his eyes. It's illogical, concentrate on the problem, admonished the saner part of himself but the monster inside kept growling.
"H-He is having a vision." He told her. Why was this happening again? He had to concentrate on Harry. But all he could feel was rage. He hadn't felt like this in days- since the time Harry had locked the locket inside a vault in his room...
"Where is the locket, Hermione?" he gruffed watching Harry's writhing form.
"In Harry's hand... n-no, he is wearing it I think. We were trying to open it." She provided shakily, watching the writing form of their friend on the floor.
"Harry was saying he was apprehensive about keeping it hidden and so far away. He said we ought to carry it all the time to be able to finish it the moment we got a chance." She added biting her lips.
"Oh, Ron! Make it stop!" she cried, pressing her palms on her lips, "Don't you suppose, H-He can see us through Harry?!" she gasped and he froze.
"I sure hope not..." he whispered, and then forced the quivering form of Harry around. The locket was indeed on him, hanging on the thick gold chain he wore around his neck. Ron pulled the heavy chain, and holding the stone cold metal firmly between his fingers, yanked it off his friend's neck.
A few minutes and Harry stilled. He closed his tired eyes and lay on the carpet in a limp heap, soaking wet.
...
Minutes later, when Ron had carried and placed the younger boy on his bed and Hermione had fetched him a goblet of water, Harry looked them looking marginally better.
"What was it?" Ron asked. The locket inside his pocket felt heavy.
"He is angry, and he killed Gregorovitch," provided Harry watching him and Hermione who sat on the other side of the bed and was gently rubbing his shoulder.
"The wandmaker?!" gasped Hermione and Harry nodded while Ron looked on. Hermione was sitting close to Harry... very close.
"He saw a memory, someone, a boy leaving the wandmaker's shop. Maybe he took something? At least that is what Gregorovitch said. But he-" Harry gulped looking sick.
"Took what?" he asked roughly. He was tired of the half information.
"I don't know... but he's angry. He doesn't know either."
The three of them sat silent for a while before Ron took out the locket from his pocket. He wasn't so sure but there seemed to be a faint vibration coming from it. Not to forget, a feeling of deep unease which was taking hold over him slowly but surely.
Harry extended his hand to take it away but he removed his own just in time, clasping the metal in his palms.
"No." He stated firmly.
"Ron! I need to keep it safe."
"Correction, mate. We need to keep it safe." He huffed as the cold from the metal seem to drench through his skin. He was positive there was something wrong with it, actually, everything was wrong with it- it was a bloody Horcrux after all.
"Just put it back in the safe," Hermione argued. He glanced at her and looked away.
"No. Harry is right. We have to keep it with us all the time- finish it the moment we get a chance." The locket suddenly felt heavier and the chain seemed to coil around his wrist. He looked hard at his hands- both the locket and the chain were limp between his fingers.
"That's what I am saying! Give it to me!" yelled Harry. Too tired after the effect of the recent events, he coughed and heaved. Hermione handed him the goblet again, rubbing soothing circles on his back.
"I'll keep it. I'll wear it."
Two pairs of eyes snapped towards him.
"What?!" spat Harry.
"No!" exclaimed Hermione.
He ground his teeth. "You both don't realise how powerful this is. Remember what the diary did to Ginny, Harry? It tried getting you. This will do that again. And we can't risk it."
"Then we'll take turns wearing it." argued Hermione fiercely.
"You won't Hermione. This is a part of His soul. And honestly, we don't know how powerful it can get, what it can make you do. You are the only one who can disclose the location of this place, and He wants you too. It's not safe for you to wear it. And Harry's connection seems to get stronger wearing this. Another thing we can't risk. Leaves me free..."
"You are the Secret Keeper, Ron!" growled Harry.
"Exactly, mate. I am the only one who can't disclose our location even if I want to." It was simple, really; their best hope. He opened his palm and pulled the chain over.
The locket rested over his heart with a heavy thud. Instantly, invisible fingers clasped around the organ pumping blood into his veins. The voice inside him laughed a dark, grim, evil laugh.
A/N: A quick reply to a few reviewers which will probably be answers to questions many of you have.
First
chemrunner57: I can understand your concern, but please bear with me. Events need a setup and other events that lead up to complete the picture. The story has been slow of late, and I apologise but it had to be that way. Trust me, I know where these two are going, where the whole plot is going. And Ron needs to be where he was 20 chapters ago. This story is also about his journey to self-realisation too.
Ron's Lover: I WON'T leave this unfinished. There, you have my word.
ShilenKnight: Please don't be so hopeful. Sorry!
Joy: Your suggestion was very tempting but I can't do that because... (Can't say! Spoiler!) But yes, this is not a missing moment story, so events will be different. And yes, I will jump events whenever this plot allows me to do so.
Guest Reviewer: I'll keep your threat in mind if I think of killing him. And no, I don't intent to die so young.
JoorayssicPark: This is not a missing moment so expect the story from the perspective of a Crazy Ron lover. Trust me, you'll love Ron, for whatever he does.
Finally,
Burger King: ONCE AGAIN is WIP. I am not uploading because
1. A lot needs to be edited and
2. Writing is going too slow for me to post it.
Can't keep my readers hanging for months for new chapters. Will come up after this story wraps up- by June or July (just an estimation).
Thanks to all other reviewers for your kind words –
thatwitch64, Rohit, Gja (she's a lot better, thanks!), Yoli, Crazytulip, banzi, notsing, heronlove, nirdoodle, JeanandBilius, RHr1912, sherry goel, Amy and WeasleyIsMyKing540.
You guys keep me motivated to work on this story and update it sooner.
And yes, I will work on that sequel I mentioned
Thanks for all the support! Please don't forget that review!
Love.