Chapter 1: The Unthinkable

The two teenagers walked purposefully through the forest, the drizzle and gloom of the late afternoon perfectly reflecting their somber moods. It was remarkably still in this section of the forest with few sounds to be heard but the rain, their quiet footsteps, and an occasional sniffle from the girl.

She glanced at her companion who reached over to take her hand. He gave it a reassuring squeeze but the gesture was in vain. She could think of nothing that would comfort her now except having him back and also walking beside her.

"We'd better stop for the night," said the boy with a heavy sigh. "It will be getting dark soon and it will be too easy for them to sneak up on us. Those bushes plus the invisibility cloak should be enough to hide us until morning."

They magically erased all evidence of their trail and crawled under the thicket.

They had finally found and destroyed the fifth Horcrux earlier in the day. It had been well protected, but with Harry's lead, they had found it after getting past the numerous hexes, curses and traps guarding it. Hermione and Ron had watched in triumph as Harry destroyed it. The light nearly blinded them when the piece of soul was released from the innocent looking object, a silver brooch ornately detailed with the Ravenclaw family crest. They were ecstatic over their success after spending months researching, hunting and training in the use of ancient spells and counter curses.

They had already started the journey home but in the excitement Hermione had forgotten one of their bags containing the precious research materials they had gathered including Dumbledore's journal. No one thought it would be dangerous for one of them to go back to retrieve it.

But it had been. Something happened which had never occurred after the other Horcruxes were found; Voldemort had appeared accompanied by nearly a dozen of his Death Eaters.

Now, hidden by the invisibility cloak, both teens sat in silence with the trunk of a tree bracing their backs. Each was lost in the same thought— the horror they had witnessed only a few hours before.
Nothing could ease the guilt of having to watch the events unfold and being unable to stop them. Neither would be able to erase the memory of their best friend's torture; nor would they be able to erase the memory of the green light emitting, as if in slow motion, from the end the enraged Dark Lord's wand. Over and over in their minds they saw the killing curse knock into him, lift him into the air, and slam his body into the large tree behind him with a sickening thud.

They had not been able to hear what had been exchanged between Dark Lord and their friend, but they heard the horrible sound of his body hitting the tree and the Death Eaters' sickening laughter that followed. They could see the look of rage on Voldemort's snake-like face as he watched the body land like a rag doll at the foot of the tree and remain motionless. Their friend never had a chance to defend himself nor did he give away any indication that others had been with him.

Their only recourse had been to leave as quickly as they could and as they were sworn to do. They had dug into their pocket to withdraw a tiny object resembling a Berti Botts Every Flavor bean. These were a recent invention given to them by Fred and George Weasley during their last night at Order headquarters. The twins originally meant the innocent looking beans to be a new product for their joke shop that would allow students to soundlessly sneak in and out of classes (or any other trouble they might find themselves in).

To the Ministry of Magic's alarm, they also let the person biting into one bypass many protective wards and spells and disappear and then reappear up to several kilometers away from their initial location. The Ministry discovered these particular features of the beans and decreed their production an illegal activity. The entire inventory was confiscated, or so the Ministry thought; but not before Fred and George had hidden away a good sized handful each.

The two remaining companions knew they had to get away as quickly as possible; they each bit down on a bean and silently disappeared.

Wrapping the invisibility cloak more snugly around her, Hermione whispered. "How can I go on without him?"

Her tears began to flow freely again and she whispered more angrily, "Why did we ever agree to make that stupid pact? We could have helped him…"

Regretfully she thought back to the magical pact she, Ron and Harry had agreed to prior to going after the fifth Horcrux:

"I said 'No!' You guys can't come with me this time!" Harry came close to shouting.
They had been in the room he and Ron shared at number twelve Grimmauld Place.

"Since when do you have the right to tell us what we can and can't do?" came Ron's loud retort.
Hermione nodded her support of Ron's argument.

Harry had drawn a breath to yell back but then he stopped and let out a frustrated groan instead.

It had been a recurring argument. Especially after what happened when they found the fourth Horcrux, which had indeed been a cup that had belonged to Helga Hufflepuff's family.

Trying very hard to keep his temper under control, Harry said, "You were nearly killed the last time, Ron! I will not be responsible for you or Hermione getting hurt like that again… or worse…"

There had been a final curse on that Horcrux which they had not anticipated. When Harry muttered the spell to destroy it, a beam of light had flown out of it and struck Ron. The Horcrux had been destroyed but Ron ended up gripped in a seizure and could barely breathe. Thankfully, Hermione had studied the Healing arts in preparation for their quest and was able to keep Ron alive until they got him to Saint Mungo's.

"We've been through this before, Harry," Hermione said. "You don't have to do this alone! We won't let you! It's OUR choice! We understand the risks!"

Harry turned on her. "How do you think I would feel if one of you died because of me?"

"Probably as guilty and angry and rotten as we would feel if you died because we weren't given the chance to be there trying to help you!" Ron replied, glaring at him.

Deep in his heart Harry knew he would not have gotten this far without their help. Their friendship was one of the few things that kept him going when he began to think too much about the near impossible road ahead. The constant reports of deaths and torture at the hands of Voldemort and his followers was another. And the third…well, the third he tried hard to push from his mind, but at times it was the hardest to ignore. He thought being away so much would make it easier, but it didn't.

No, without them, he would not have made it this far. To Hermione's delight, Dumbledore's journal lead them to a number of ancient tomes in some very old and unknown wizard museums and libraries. Through the journal, Harry learned Dumbledore had donated many of the volumes with the stipulation that only those who presented a specific magical seal could have access to them. One of Dumbledore's last journal entries provided the seal, an explanation for its use, and a final note to Harry stating 'I am confident you and your friends will use it well.'

A number of the spells Hermione translated from the old languages had already proven their worth, as well as their danger.
Several months earlier, Voldemort started to reach into Harry's mind again which caused such horrendous dreams and images Harry thought he might go insane. He was barely sleeping, barley eating and nearing exhaustion.

Harry never succeeded in mastering Occlumency, but Hermione had uncovered an ancient spell and potion that would enable him to protect his mind from unwanted intrusions. Harry was getting desperate and had immediately wanted to try it.

Hermione thought they should do more research first to make ensure the spell and potion were safe. She argued there had to be some reason their use had fallen into near oblivion over time. But one particularly bad round of nightmares finally convinced her they had to try it before either Harry went crazy or Voldemort discovered what Harry knew.

It turned out Hermione's fears had not been unfounded. Upon completion of the spell and with Harry's last swallow of the potion, he collapsed into a deep but fitful sleep from which they could not wake him. Ron and Hermione were forced to watch helplessly as Harry became gripped in a perpetual nightmare that caused him to thrash about yelling and mumbling incoherently.

After several long hours Harry calmed but he still had not awakened. Hermione and Ron continued to search desperately for more information on the spell or the potion, only to find an obscure reference in a separate volume describing the "sleeping terror" and subsequent "sleep of death." If the victim was to have a chance of waking before death took over, an antidote had to be administered within several hours of the end of the nightmares. The antidote was a relatively simple one, resembling a common energizing potion, and Hermione was able to prepare it with a few hours to spare.

They force fed the potion to Harry and waited an agonizing amount of time before he eventually woke. The risk had ultimately been worth it because Harry had not experienced a single nightmare attributed to Voldemort since. On the other hand, Harry had suffered debilitating headaches for several weeks afterward until the side effects of the original potion wore off; but the trio had learned a valuable lesson in dabbling in ancient and unknown spells.

"Alright," Harry finally said. "On one condition."

"And that would be?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"You make a pact with me. A magical, binding pact. Aurors do it often to ensure their missions are successful," Harry replied.

Ron said, "But we aren't Aurors, and neither are you."

"One condition," Harry repeated again, growing more serious.

"What?" Ron and Hermione said in unison.

"We make the socius salvus pact," Harry replied.

"Harry, no!" cried Hermione.

"The what?" asked Ron.

Hermione stared at Harry in disbelief. "You'd really expect us to follow through with something like that? You really think you would be able to comply with that?"

"If we made the pact, we'd have to, wouldn't we?" Harry said staring hard right back at her.

The look in his green eyes told her he would not change his mind.

"Would one of you please tell me what you are talking about?" Ron asked. "What's the social salvy pact?"

Hermione looked out the window for a moment before she explained. "The socius salvus pact, Ron. If we take the oath together, it means that no matter what happens, even if we know one us is in a deadly situation, those who are safe must remain so and get away; they would have to leave the other behind, alone to face…" her voice trailed off.

Ron looked at Harry in surprise. "Harry, is that what you meant? But why on earth would you want us to agree to something like that?"

Harry looked away and didn't say anything.

"I'll tell you why," Hermione said, turning in anger. "Because you really do have a 'saving people complex,' don't you, Harry? You'll make sure it will be you who takes the greatest risks. And, as always, you'll do your best to make sure it will be you in the deadly situations, won't you? Will that keep the guilt away, Harry? You'll ensure our safety but you'll also ensure it won't be you left to feel the guilt and pain the next time!"

Hermione stopped her rant and her eyes widened when she realized what she had just said.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…oh, I shouldn't have said that. It's just, well…it's just that you always put yourself in danger for other people, but you don't want others to do that for you in return."

Harry looked back at Hermione, surprisingly not angry at her outburst. Actually, he was impressed by her perception and understanding of him. That wasn't what he had been thinking on the surface but if he honestly thought about it, her words did hold some truth.

"Maybe part of what you said is true."

At this Ron snorted and began to protest, but Harry put up his hand and continued, "I honestly had another motive in mind."

Before either of them could cut in, he went on. "You know we have not only been able to find two more of the Horcruxes, and probably another, but we have also gathered a lot of information and research that may be helpful in defeating Voldemort."

They heard Ron's sharp intake of breath at the sound of the dark wizard's name.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Ron, aren't you over that by now?" asked Hermione with a note of annoyance in her voice.

"As I was saying," Harry continued, "we have already been able to supply the Order, as well as ourselves, with important research, spells and counter curses that we have come across. Who knows what else we may discover? Don't you think it's likely that we may find more important information? We need to ensure anything that may help our side and anything that we find gets back. Especially if… well, especially if I'm not the one who wins in the end. Don't you see?"

Hermione and Ron were never comfortable when Harry broached the topic of his possible death but as they thought about it, even Hermione had trouble debating Harry's logic.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other briefly and came to a mutual agreement.

"Fine. We'll enter this pact with you," Hermione said. "But remember, it is only invoked if we become separated and one of us is in danger. So the way I see it, Harry, you have just ensured that the three of us will be sticking together like glue."

"Alright, let's do it then," Harry replied.

But even as they performed the spell that sealed the pact, Harry knew Hermione had been right. He would try, without his friends' knowledge he hoped, to protect them as much as he could. He would make sure that he was the one who would take on the most dangerous aspects of the journey to come. After all, he was the most experienced, not to mention the one whose future had been laid out for him by a prophecy over 18 years ago.

"I… I really loved him, you know?" Hermione said after they had been sitting in silence for what seemed like hours.

"I know and so did he," came the barley audible response. "Try to get some sleep now. I'll keep watch first. We won't have much farther to go tomorrow to get away from the wards on this part of the forest. Then we can Apparate back to headquarters."

He was amazed at his calmness, considering the guilt that was threatening to overcome him and the continual scene going through his head of his best mate's murder. They had been so careful up until then; how could they have let their guard down? But the guilt was quickly overshadowed by a smoldering anger. Voldemort had claimed yet another innocent life. He had to be stopped and he was going to make sure of it!

Hermione didn't think she could sleep at the moment but she placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes while he wrapped his arm around her to cushion her back.

Several hours later, a rustling and footsteps coming close to their hiding spot startled them.

"They can't have gotten far," said a gruff whisper.

"I'm not sure there be anyone else out 'ere. We would 'ave seen evidence of 'em," came a reply.

"'Sides," said another, "the kid said he was alone, even under the Cruciatus Curse."

Hermione closed her eyes tightly, not wanting a graphic reminder of what had happened.

"Come on, let's go back. There's no one out here," said the first voice.

"But… ee's going to be really mad when we come back without someone," one of them whined.

"Well what more can we do?" said the second voice, "we been looking all night and 'aven't found a bloody thing."

"Ok, ok, let's go. Better to get it over with."

The group headed away from their hiding place and the two companions let out relieved breaths. The remainder of the evening was uneventful but neither had much success in getting a restful sleep. The horror of the day's events seemed to come back stronger in the darkness of the night. It did not help that the slightest sound made them jump, thinking Death Eaters were still near by.

Dawn came at last and they found the rain had stopped to give way to a beautiful, cloudless sky. With heavy hearts, they set out toward the edge of the forest to the point where they could Apparate.

By late morning they reached their destination, just as even Hermione was starting to severely regret that they had had to sacrifice their brooms to get by one of the last curses guarding the Horcrux.

"Well, let's go."

"Wait." Hermione said with a mixture of grief and concern reflecting in her brown eyes. "How are we going to do it?"

"Apparate? The way we always have?"

"No…I mean… how are we going to tell everyone that he's… gone?" Hermione asked as tears welled up in her eyes.

Ron turned to her and took her face into his hands. He placed a soft kiss on his girlfriend's lips and then looked deep into her grief-stricken face.

"I don't know but we'll do it together."

Hermione nodded sadly and with a pop, disappeared.

Ron followed her but he felt a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that had nothing to do with Apparation. He wasn't sure how they would tell them, either. He dreaded having to break the news that the one they all loved and who had become a part of his family, the one on whom the Wizarding world had hung their hopes to put an end to Voldemort and his rein of terror, had ultimately lost.