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"You've been awfully quiet lately," Hermione said, watching Harry as he studied from his defense book. He shrugged his shoulders, refusing to take his eyes off of the book.
"Seriously, mate, what's wrong with you?" Ron asked, looking over at him.
"Nothing," he replied, flipping the page of the book. Hermione stared at him in concern, wondering what Dumbledore may have told him at their last meeting.
"I need to get to class," she said, grabbing her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. Harry watched her go for a moment before saying a "be right back" to Ron and following her out of the Great Hall.
"Hermione," he said, grabbing her arm to get her attention. She turned to look at him.
"Ready to talk?" she said, giving him a look. He let out a sigh.
"I need your help," he whispered, hoping that no one would overhear them.
"With what?" she whispered back.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "With Slughorn. Meet me in the Room of Requirement after your rounds tonight. It's urgent."
She pulled back to stare at him, but nodded, pressing her hand against the side of his face. "Whatever you want, you know I'll help."
He nodded, kissing her forehead as he did so. "Thank you."
"I really need to get to Arithmacy. I'll see you later."
She reached him to give him a quick kiss. She then turned on her heel and walked away from him, her heart beating in her chest as to what he figured out this time.
Hermione looked around, making sure no one was watching, before she entered the Room of Requirement. Noticing that Harry hadn't arrived yet, she sat on the couch, opening her Transfiguration book to start reading from it.
A few moments later, the door opened. She turned her head to see no one walk through, and she smiled softly as the door closed.
"Sorry," a voice replied, and Harry removed his cloak. "It's not easy to convince Ron that I need to get away. I think he knows what we do in here."
"It's not his business," she reminded him. "What's so urgent? And, why didn't you include Ron?"
"I will," he replied, sitting next to her. "I don't want to tell him until we get it."
"Get what?"
"A memory from Slughorn."
"A memory? Why is that urgent?"
"Because of what it contains," he said, staring deep into her eyes. She pulled back to stare at him.
"What does it contain?"
He quickly told her of everything that he and Dumbledore had talked about a few days prior. She stared back at him in shock, wondering how much more could be thrown at him.
"What do you need me to do?" she said softly. He pressed his lips together.
"I need your help getting it from him-in whatever way."
She nodded, turning her head away from him. "I'll do whatever you want."
He took her hand and kissed it. "Thank you."
"We should be getting back," she said, glancing at the time. He nodded.
"Great job, Ron!" Harry called out, watching as Ron blocked another Quaffle.
"Great job, Ronnie-wonnie!" Ginny called out. Ron glared at her.
"I think that's all for today," Harry said, maneuvering around his team. They all nodded and flew to the ground. "Great job. Get ready for Slythern."
They all nodded, and took off towards the locker room. Ron walked up to Harry.
"Do you know if Malfoy is back on the team?"
"He's not," Harry replied. "I guess they offered him the position and he turned it down."
"Why?"
"I have no idea."
"Great practice," Hermione said, walking up to them.
"We need to go get changed, then we'll be right out," Harry said. She nodded.
"I'm going to the common room. I'll meet you up there."
They nodded, and watched as she walked away. She slowly walked up the path back to the castle and spotted Susan Bones sitting near the Clock Tower.
"Hello, Susan."
"Oh, hi, Hermione," she replied softly, looking away from her. Hermione looked at her in confusion.
"Is something wrong?"
"You haven't heard?"
"Heard what?" she asked, sitting next to her.
"Ron and I broke up."
"What? Why?"
"It just wasn't working."
"I'm so sorry."
"It's ok. I had a lot of fun with him, though."
"You broke up with Susan?!" Hermione said, slapping Ron on the arm when he and Harry arrived through the common room.
"Yeah, so?"
"What happened? I thought you liked her!"
"I did, but people break up, Hermione. Not everyone is as perfect as you and Harry are."
"We're not perfect," she replied back. "We have our flaws."
"Please. You guys have gotten into one fight."
Harry remained silent in the background. Hermione looked at him.
"Susan and I didn't work. Let it go."
He walked past her and sat on the couch. Hermione looked away from Harry, wondering what that was about.
"Just let it go," he said softly. She nodded. "Anyway, we need to see Slughorn-tonight."
"Tonight? Why?" she asked.
"The faster we can get this done, the better."
"Fine," she replied, shaking her head. She looked back over at Ron, who looked furious. "I should probably stay away from him anyway."
After dinner, they took off towards Professor Slughorn's office. Harry reached up and knocked on the door, hoping more than anything that he and Hermione could convince him right away.
"Harry, m'boy! Hermione! What do I owe the pleasure?"
"We were wanting to ask you a question," Harry said. He stared at both of them for a moment before moving aside and allowing them to enter.
"What is it?" he asked, closing the door. He moved over to his tea pot and began to pour three cups of tea.
"Tom Riddle."
Slughorn froze in his spot, his hand shaking the tea pot.
"How do you know that name?"
"He's the man who's been ruining my life," Harry replied, slowly walking closer to Slughorn. "He murdered my parents. He's made every year here at Hogwarts difficult for me. He's hurt my friends-especially Hermione. I don't know that he did it, but I believe he killed Hermione's parents as well. He needs to be stopped, and I believe you have the answer."
"Get out!"
"I'm not leaving without that memory," Harry replied.
"You need to leave!"
"Professor," Hermione chimed in, "please give us the memory. Harry needs it."
"Did Dumbledore put you up to this?"
"Doesn't matter."
"I am not giving you the memory."
Hermione put her hand up to silence Harry. "You taught Harry's mum, right? Lily? This is her, isn't her?" she asked, holding up the picture frame.
Slughorn turned away. "Yes, I taught Lily. One of my all-time favorite students."
"You mentioned that I am very similar to her. And I am. Both muggleborns, both bright, both caring about our studies and the men in our life. I love Harry. I would die to protect him. Lily did. She saved the life of her child by giving her own. Professor Black-"
"I know about Sirius," he chimed in, trying to hide the tears in his eyes. "He and James always ran around Hogwarts causing mischief. They always annoyed Lily, but she loved them none-of-the-less."
"He's my godfather," Harry said softly.
"Sirius and Remus are Harry's last connection to his parents. And he's theirs. Without that memory, Lily's sacrifice will be for nothing. Her son could die by the same man who killed them. Do you want that?"
He sniffed, reaching up to wipe the tears from his eyes. "No, of course not."
"We need that memory, professor. Please."
Slughorn stared at them for a moment before pressing his wand to his temple. He grabbed a vial and put the memory into it, corking it off as he did so.
"You're destined for greatness, Harry," he said, giving the vial to him. "Stay with her."
Harry looked over at Hermione and smiled slightly. "I will, professor. Thank you."
"Get," he said, pointing to the door. They nodded and quickly walked out, letting out sighs of relief as the door closed behind them.
"You are incredible!" he said, pulling her into his arms. "Thank you! I don't think I could have done that on my own."
"Thank your mum," she said sadly.
He leaned down and kissed her head. "I should get this to Dumbledore, shouldn't I?"
"Want me to go with you?"
"Go back to Ron. I'll catch up with you."
She nodded, and watched as he ventured towards the staircase. She turned on her heel and started the path back to the common room.
"Boo!"
"Ronald!" she cried, clutching her chest. She turned around and watched as he grinned at her. She slapped his arm. "That's not funny!"
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't pass that up."
She shook her head while he continued to grin at her. "Hey, where's Harry?"
"He went to see Professor Dumbledore."
"Is everything ok?"
"I'm really not sure," she said softly, crossing her arms.
"Let's get back to the common room."
She nodded, and followed him up to Gryffindor Tower. They sat on the couch and pulled their homework out. Hermione found she was unable to focus on hers, and wondered what Harry was learning from Slughorn's memory.
"You alright?" Ron asked her, looking quite concerned. She nodded.
"I'm fine, Ron, really. I must be getting tired."
She flipped through her Potions book, hoping to get the assignment done before Harry returned. About an hour later he returned, all the color drained from his face.
"What's the matter?" she asked, standing up to greet him. He shook his head, as though he were unaware of where he was. "Harry?"
"I'm in trouble," he whispered, collapsing onto the couch. She and Ron looked at each other, worry flowing through both of them.
"What do you mean, mate?"
Harry looked around, making sure that the common room was empty, before he started to talk. "I have been hiding something from both of you because I was unsure of how to tell you, and I also didn't have the full story. Now I do."
"You can tell us," she said, taking his hand in hers. He squeezed it tightly.
"Voldemort has been making Horcruxes."
They both stared at him, confusion filling their faces.
"What is that?" Ron asked.
"A Horcrux is created when someone splits their soul and put it into an object."
"Who would want to do that?" he asked in disgust.
Harry closed his eyes. "There's more. You can only do this by killing someone-and Dumbledore believes that Voldemort did this seven times."
"Seven times?" Hermione asked in disgust. Ron's mouth was wide open.
"And we've only found two."
"What were they?"
"Riddle's Diary, and a ring that belonged to Voldemort's family."
"The same diary that possessed my sister?"
"The very one. It's what made Dumbledore aware of them."
"What does this mean?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry in concern. He shrugged his shoulders, unsure of where to begin.
"It means that we have to find all of them and destroy them, for me to fulfill the prophecy."
He refused to look up, but knew that both of his friends were staring at him in shock.
"Bloody hell," Ron said, wiping his hands on his pants. Hermione's eyes dropped to the floor, unsure of how to process this. "Whatever you need, mate, we're here for you."
Hermione put her hand on her stomach, feeling disgusted. She closed her eyes and soon felt Harry run his hand up and down her back.
"As if you didn't have enough to deal with, now you have this?" she whispered, hoping the nausea would pass.
"We'll figure it out, Hermione. We always do."
"Not this. We've never done anything like this."
"We find these, we find him and it's all over."
She leaned her head on his shoulder and let out a deep breath, finding comfort when Harry's hand slipped into hers.
"How do we begin?"
"Two have already been destroyed," Harry started. "That still leaves five out in the open. Dumbledore believes he's found another one, and….."
"And what?" Hermione said, turning to look at him.
"He wants me to go with him this time."
She let out a deep breath, while Ron looked away. Harry's grasp on her hand tightened.
"You should go."
"I need to. I need to figure out what to do and how to destroy these things."
"Hermione and I will do some research, see if we can figure this out. You should go with Dumbledore, and recover the Horcrux."
Hermione nodded, remaining silent as she did so. Harry smiled softly.
"Thanks. I'll talk to him tomorrow."
"Have you talked to Sirius about this?"
"I can't imagine his reaction to this at all. I don't want to have to tell him this."
"He's your guardian. He deserves to know," Hermione said, turning to look at him. "He knows a lot about the dark arts. Maybe he'll know how to help."
Harry closed his eyes, pressing his hands against the sides of his head. "You're right. I should talk to him."
A knock on his door made Sirius jump. Standing up from his desk, he moved to open the door, his eyebrows dropping in confusion for a moment before smiling softly.
"It's way past curfew."
"We need to talk," Harry said, removing his cloak.
"Is everything alright?"
Harry shook his head, finding it hard to come up with the words. Sirius looked at him, quite concerned.
"I just found something out, and I really need to talk to you about it."
"You can talk to me about anything."
"Voldemort has been making Horcruxes."
Sirius pulled back, his eyes widening in shock.
"I'm guessing you know what they are?"
"I know what they are," he hissed, pressing his hands against his temple. "How many, Harry?"
"Dumbledore believes there's seven."
"Seven?" he said, standing up. "He made seven?!"
"Two have already been destroyed. There's still five more out there." He paused for a moment, wondering what Sirius' reaction might be to this. "I'm going with Dumbledore to collect another one."
"To hell you are!"
"Sirius-"
"Harry, this is incredibly dangerous! This is something even the most powerful of wizards don't mess around with!"
"I have to do this! It's the only way to beat him!"
Sirius ran his hand across his face, letting out a disgusted sigh as he did so. "I am going with you."
"You need to stay."
"I am your guardian. You're only going if I do."
"Ron and Hermione will need your help."
"With what?"
"Research. They're helping me with this."
"Remus can help them. If you're going, then I am as well."
"When were you planning on telling me about the Horcruxes?" Sirius asked, as Dumbledore took his seat behind his desk.
"After I told Harry, of course."
"And you were planning on taking him without my permission?"
"Of course not," Dumbledore said softly. "I wanted to ask Harry if he wanted to accompany me, then I would have asked you."
"There's no way I am allowing him to go without me being there, too."
"I was going to ask you as well," he replied, standing up. He put his hands behind his back and looked out the window, letting out a sigh as he did so. "Sirius, Harry will need someone to help him with this mission, and I fear I will not be around much longer."
"Why do you say that?"
Dumbledore turned back around and showed Sirius his hand. Sirius stared at it, unsure of what to say.
"It's slowly killing me."
"Is this from a Horcrux?"
"Yes."
"And you want Harry to go after these things?"
"Harry will succeed. I know he will."
"What do you want me to do?" Sirius said, closing his eyes.
"Help Harry, Ron and Hermione with the Horcruxes. They'll need your help."
Sirius put his hand on his mouth, but nodded. "Remus is looking in the library back at Grimmauld Place. If there's anything we need to know, I'm well assured it'd be in there."
"One last thing before you go," Dumbledore said, walking over to a glass case. "I'm not sure if you heard the stories of Harry his first two years here while you were in Azkaban, but this is one of them."
"A sword?" Sirius asked, looking in the case.
"In Harry's second year, Voldemort decided to open the Chamber of Secrets. He used this diary-" Dumbledore said, going to his desk to pick up Riddle's Diary "-to control Ginny Weasley to open the chamber and unleash a basilisk on the school. Hermione was one of the muggleborns who was petrified, prompting Ron and Harry to save both of the girls. Harry used this sword to kill the basilisk. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe the venom captured in this sword will be enough to destroy the Horcruxes."
"What the hell happens at this school?" he asked, staring at Dumbledore in shock.
"Voldemort has sure found a way to make Harry's years here enjoyable, hasn't he?" he replied, smiling softly. Sirius glared at him.
"Year after year he puts his life at risk!"
"I want you to take this and hide it and Grimmauld Place. I left it to Harry in my will, but I fear someone would have a problem with that. This way, Harry won't be injured like I was."
He gave Sirius the sword, and he ran his fingers across the blade. "Very well. I'll take this back to Grimmauld Place tonight."
"Don't tell Harry any of this. I don't want him to be concerned."
Sirius nodded, going over to the fireplace. He hesitated for a moment before turning back to face Dumbledore.
"Is there anything that I can do to help?"
"Severus has tried. Nothing has worked."
"Be careful, mate," Ron said, clapping Harry on his back. Harry nodded.
"I'll try to be."
"Listen to Sirius and Dumbledore," Hermione said quietly, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Always."
He turned to look at Ron, who turned and walked towards the fireplace. He then leaned down and caught Hermione's lips with his. His hands clutched at her head while hers ran through his hair.
She knew that Harry was scared, because he was pouring everything into the kiss. She pulled away and brought him in for a hug.
"Go, Harry," she whispered.
He nodded, pressing his lips against her head. He then turned and walked out of Dumbledore's office. Hermione turned back to Ron, who was staring at Riddle's Diary with hatred.
"It's destroyed," she said, putting her hand on his back. "It's all in the past."
"This thing possessed my sister. If it can do that, who knows what the rest of them can do."
"I'm worried, too, but there's not anything that we won't be able to figure out. Harry figured out the diary."
He nodded, throwing the diary back onto the desk. She stared at it for a moment before looking back up at Ron.
"We should get going."
"Yeah," he said, turning and following her out of the office. They slowly walked back up to the tower, not saying anything as they did so. They eventually arrived up there and sat on the couch, Hermione closing her eyes as she laid her head on the back of it.
"You should get some sleep," he said, staring into the fireplace.
"You and I both know that neither of us will be able to sleep tonight-not while Harry's out there."
He moved to sit next to her. She smiled softly as she let out a yawn. A few moments later she fell asleep, her head falling onto Ron's shoulder.
"Miss. Granger! Mr. Weasley!"
Someone was shaking her awake. She opened her eyes to see Professor McGonagall standing there, tears gathering in her eyes.
"What's wrong, professor?" she asked, moving away from Ron. She heard him snore and she slapped his cheek, watching as he jumped up from his seat.
"The Headmaster is in the Hospital Wing."