Harry and Hermione were walking ways away from the tent, just chatting. Mainly Harry just wanted to get away from that blasted radio that Ron has on during most of their downtime which was pretty much every day. At one point, they were standing near the protective enchantments when both of them saw a group of thugs walking by. One of them, based on his appearance and how he carried himself was the leader of the group had retreated a few steps and said, "What's that?" he asked as he smelled the air. "What's that smell?" he dismissed it once he heard one of his followers put down a heavy bag and said, "What you doing?"
"It's heavy," he responded.
"Oh, sorry. Do you want me to carry it?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yeah. Thank you," he said, oblivious to the sarcasm.
"Don't be ridiculous," he told him, completely frustrated with his lack of understanding. "Pick it up." His head snapped up for a moment as did Harry and Hermione. For the life of them, they couldn't figure out where that noise came from. The next thing that Scabior knew he was flying high in the air as was the heavy-set man. The other man was terrified as he looked around him, trying to figure out who hurt his two friends. Just before the "ghost" harmed him, he was blocked by four figures.
"Well, well, well…" he said. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."
A female vampire turned her head slightly towards the third man and said, "Leave." He picked up his belongings and ran. She listened carefully around her to ensure that no one else, except three, was listening. Once the area was sealed off, she spoke, "What are you doing in this area? There's nothing here for you."
"I'm only here to find you and your coven. After all, you are difficult to find," he replied.
"You found us," Jasper replied. "What do you want?"
"Your heads on a silver platter," he replied.
"You're outnumbered," Ella stated.
"True, but that doesn't mean I can't try to kill you," he said as he ran towards Ella. Jasper and Edward both grabbed an arm each, held it as he fought back as Ella launched herself onto his body and ripped his head off. Once she did that, Edward and Jasper ripped his arms off. Carlisle was busy setting up a fire to burn the pieces.
"They were snatchers," Ella informed them about the three human wizards. Then she spoke up for Harry and Hermione, "Good to know your enchantments work, Hermione."
She walked out of the protections of the enchantments and said, "He could smell it. My perfume."
"Next time, just don't wear any," she told her.
Hermione nodded and then asked, "Will all of you be staying with us?"
"Just Edward and I," Ella answered. "After what had happened at the Ministry, we found Edward and left to destroy the other vampires and hid since then. I feel fortunate that all four of us are here now to protect you."
"I'm glad. I hated it when the visit was cut short," Hermione commented. "I'm wondering about something, though."
"What is it?" Ella asked.
"Will both you and Edward be unseen under the protection of enchantments that we put up?"
"Yes," Edward answered. "We've tested it ourselves and made sure that we wouldn't be seen but there is one condition with that."
"What is it?" Hermione inquired.
"It has to be us that says it in order for it to work," Ella said. "Of course it will cover you as well."
Hermione nodded. "What happens now?"
"It would be best if Carlisle and Jasper leave now and the five us leave shortly after," Ella said. "It's too dangerous for you to stay here now that this area has been somewhat exposed to vampires and wizards alike." After the goodbyes, Ella and Edward both went under the protection of enchantments and helped them pack. Hermione was in charge of getting Harry and Ron to another location that she had agreed with Ella. They thought it would be best if there were two different trails.
Once that was done, Ella and Edward get to the location, just in time to hear Ron ask, "He doesn't know what he's doing, does he?" as they looked in at Harry who was standing alone, trying to find solace.
"None of us do," Ella replied as she walked towards Harry, hoping to console him somehow. Night fell upon them sooner than expected and they were all gathered inside the tent once Edward and Ella made sure that the enchantments were intact. Hermione felt better knowing that they Ella and Edward were there to hear any odd noises that might attack them for any reasons. At one point, Harry was sitting on a chair with a white sheet surrounding him. Ella had a pair of scissors in hand as she trimmed his hair. At the table, Hermione was drinking her tea and thinking about what they knew so far.
Ella removed the scissors from her hands the moment, she heard Hermione gasp and said, "Oh my god."
Harry turned around and said, "What?"
"The Sword of Gryffindor. Its Goblin made," Hermione stated.
"Brilliant!" Harry replied, entirely too unsure as to how to respond to what Hermione said.
"No, you don't understand. Dirt and rust have no effect on the blade. It only takes in that which makes it stronger," she expanded.
"Ok," he said as he removed the white sheet off his body to join Hermione at the table. Ella and Edward were standing near the table, listening to what Hermione was saying. Edward smiled at the connection that Hermione made and wasn't surprised that she had made the connection. Ella caught his expression, "Edward, what is it?"
"Nothing," he said, "It's just I'm not surprised that Hermione has already made the connection already, although I hope that You-Know-Who hasn't made it already."
"Hermione, what is he talking about?" Harry inquired.
"Harry, you've already destroyed on Horcrux, right? Tom Riddle's diary in the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione went on.
"With a Basilisk fang. If you tell me, you've got one of those in that bloody bag of yours—" Harry tried to finish but Hermione interrupted.
"Don't you see? In the Chamber of Secrets, you stabbed the Basilisk fang with the sword of Gryffindor. Its blade is impregnated with Basilisk venom," she finished off.
"It only takes in that which makes it stronger," Harry said, finally understanding what she was talking about.
"Exactly, which is why—" Hermione agreed.
"It can destroy Horcruxes," Harry finally comprehending what she was talking about.
"That's why Dumbledore left it to you in his will," she said.
"You are brilliant, Hermione. Truly," Harry praised her.
"Actually I'm highly logical which allows me to look past extraneous detail and perceive clearly that which others overlook," Hermione said.
"Yeah, there's only one problem, of course," Harry said.
"But why are you hoping that You-Know-Who hasn't figured it out yet?" Hermione probed.
"If the sword was truly stolen and Dumbledore left it to you in his will, I'm afraid that someone in his army may know about it and kept it well-hidden until it's time to use it," Edward explained, "but that's only if You-Know-Who is aware of it. He may have asked someone to keep it hidden."
"The sword was stolen," Ron said, confidently, and surprising everyone when he spoke up, "Yeah, I'm still here. But you two carry on. Don't let me spoil the fun."
Harry addressed him, "What's wrong?"
"Wrong? Nothing's wrong. Not according to you, anyway," Ron spoke up.
Harry stood up and faced Ron, "Look, if you've got something to say, don't be shy. Spit it out." Ella and Edward knew that this was going to go downhill and fast. They were both standing in the middle, ready to interfere, in case things became drastic.
"All right, I'll spit it out. But don't expect me to be grateful because there's another damn thing we've gotta find," Ron told him.
"I thought you knew what you had signed up for!" Harry accused.
"Yeah, I thought so too," Ron said.
"Well, then, I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand. What part of this isn't living up to your expectations? Did you think we were gonna be staying in a hotel? Finding a Horcrux every other day? Thought you'd be back by Christmas?" Harry questioned.
"I just thought, after all this time, we've achieved something. I thought you knew what you were doing. I thought Dumbledore told you something worthwhile. I thought you had a plan," Ron replied.
"I told you everything Dumbledore told me. In case you haven't noticed, we found a Horcrux," Harry said.
"Yeah, and we're as close to getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them."
"Ron, please, take— take the Horcrux off. You wouldn't be saying this if you hadn't been wearing it all day," Ella said, knowing that's what is causing him to behave irrationally.
"Want to know why I listen to the radio. To make sure I don't hear Ginny's name. Or Fred, or George, or Mum," Ron explained.
"You think I'm not listening too? You think I don't know how this feels?" Harry retorted.
"No, you don't know how it feels! Your parents are dead! You have no family!" Ron blamed. They were ready to go at each other and they would have succeeded had it not been for Ella and Edward standing in the middle.
"Stop! Stop!" Hermione shouted.
"Fine then, go! Go then!" Harry replied, crossing his arms.
"Ron..." Hermione called out.
"And you? Are you coming or are you staying? Fine. I get it. I saw you two the other night," Ron asked as he looked at Hermione. He took the locket off and gave it to Edward, who in turn gave it to Ella. She held onto it. They knew better to not interfere and allow them to attempt to resolve it on their own.
"Ron, that's - that's nothing! Ron – Ron, where are you going?" she asked as she followed him out of the tent. "Please come back." She knew that begging wouldn't help but she had to try. She went back into the tent and all four of them knew that it was time to move on. While packing, Ella and Edward knew that both weren't emotionally ready to make a decision as to where they would go next. Ella and Edward were standing across from each other while Hermione and Harry were facing each other.
"You both are still vulnerable after what happened, so I will be leading this part of the travel," Ella announced as she looked at both of them and both nodded, not wanting to voice anything, out of fear that they would become too emotional. Ella stuck her hand out in the middle of the four of them as Harry and Hermione put their hands over hers, respectively and then Edward was the last to go. The moment he did, they disapparated and apparated to a location that was quite bare and dry. "Both of you set up the tent as Edward and I set up the enchantments." Both nodded as they worked together quietly. Once things had gotten settled in and they stayed there for a few days, the effects of the argument had begun to take hold on both Harry and Hermione. Ella opened up her shield to allow Edward to read her mind, who in turn nodded his head. She walked outside the tent to find Hermione who was sitting down on the edge of the cliff, just yards away from where the tent was. She went and sat down next to her, knowing that no words that she could say would heal her broken heart. Once Hermione sensed Ella sitting next to her, she didn't know what to do. She knew that she could trust Ella with her life but she didn't want to depend on her too much. The one thing that Hermione didn't seem to understand and figure out was how Ella knew when she needed her the most. Hermione was just too internally exhausted to figure out what was going on, so she just laid her head on her shoulder and sniffled. Ella wrapped her arm around her and allowed her to be emotionally fragile because she knew that she didn't want to show that in front of the boys.
It wasn't until a couple of hours later, they both turned to hear and see Harry coming out and calling for her, "Hermione? Hermione?" he said as he sat on the other side of Hermione and showed her what he had in his hand. "You were right. Snitches have flesh memories but I didn't catch the first Snitch with my hand, I almost swallowed it."
She took the Snitch out of his hand and read what was written on it, "'I open at the close.'"
"What do you think that means?" he asked.
"I don't know. I found something as well. At first, I thought it was an eye, but now I don't think it is. It isn't a rune, and it isn't anywhere in Spellman's Syllabary. Someone inked it in. It isn't part of the book. Somebody drew it," she said as she showed him the book she had in hand.
"Luna's dad was wearing that at Bill and Fleur's wedding," Harry recalled.
"Why would someone draw it in a children's book?" Ella questioned.
"Look, Hermione and Ella, I've been thinking. I want to go to Godric's Hollow. It's where I was born. It's where my parents died," he said.
"That's exactly where he'll expect you to go because it means something to you," Ella told him.
"Yeah, but it means something to him, too, Ella," he said. "You-Know-Who almost died there. I mean, isn't that exactly the type of place he'd likely to hide a Horcrux?"
"It's dangerous, Harry," Hermione agreed but she had to be honest, too, "But even I have to admit, recently I've been thinking we'll have to go there. I think it's possible something else is hidden there."
"What?" Harry inquired.
"You're thinking of the sword, aren't you?" Ella asked.
Hermione nodded, "If Dumbledore wanted you to find it," she said as she looked at Harry, "but didn't want it in the Ministry's hands, where better to hide it than the birthplace of the founder of Gryffindor?" It was at that moment, where they all stood up and walked towards the tent, ready to move again.
As they were packing their things, Hermione replied, "I think we should use Polyjuice Potion."
"No," Harry said, confidently. "I was born there and it's the one place where I want to go as me and not as someone else." Hermione wanted to come up with some retort but she had a feeling that she would lose this argument. She turned around and saw Ella who silently shook her head. Hermione immediately knew but it still didn't make her anxiety go away. Once they were set, they disapparated to the streets of where Godric's Hollow was located.
Hermione was standing close to Harry and said, "I still think we should have used Polyjuice Potion."
"No. This is where I was born. I'm not returning as someone else," Harry responded. They walked the streets and looked over their shoulders to make sure that they weren't being followed. Even with Ella and Edward there, the trepidation was evident. They were walking the streets and saw a gravesite.
Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and said, "Harry, I think it's Christmas Eve. Listen." They stood for a moment, listening to their surroundings and realized that it was indeed Christmas Eve.
"Do you think they'd be in there, Hermione?" Harry asked, "My mom and dad," he clarified.
"Yeah, I think they would," they both walked into the graveyard. Hermione was looking at various headstones and saw one that was covered by snow. Once she removed the snow, she saw the name, "'Ignotus Peverell.' Hey, Harry," she said, not noticing that Harry had left her alone. She looked around and saw that Harry was standing over two gravestones and walked over to him. She recognized the names immediately and wrapped herself around his arm.
"Merry Christmas, Hermione," Harry said.
"Merry Christmas, Harry," Hermione responded. They both stood there for a moment and Harry immediately stiffened when he heard Ella whisper in his ear.
"Harry, there's someone watching us… by the church." Ella knew that Edward was doing the same for Hermione and would protect her.
Harry looked over at the church and said "I think I know who that is."
"I don't like this, Harry," Hermione said.
"Hermione, she knew Dumbledore. She might have the sword," he explained. She beckoned them to follow her. They all looked at each other, not entirely sure as if they should or not. Harry thought that since they've already come this far, they might as well just follow her. Edward and Ella keeping an eye out, especially since Edward couldn't read her mind, Edward thought it would be best if Ella went with Harry and Edward stayed with Hermione, just in case they split up. He suspected that she knew that and blocked him from her mind. They got inside the house and Harry recognized it immediately, "This is where they died, Hermione. This is where he murdered them. You're Bathilda, aren't you?" he asked but she gave no answer. He looked around and saw a picture of someone he knew, "Miss Bagshot, who is this man?" Still she gave no answer. Bathilda motioned for Harry and Ella to follow her upstairs. Ella looked over at Edward and he nodded. She motioned for Harry to start walking upstairs and followed him as Edward stood in front of Hermione. The stairs were steep and narrow. Slowly but surely, they climbed up the stairs to the upper landing and turned immediately right and led him into a low-ceilinged bedroom. Using his wand, there was enough light for the room and for him to recognize that it was an infant's room. Bathilda was standing over a crib and when he looked at her carefully, her body contorted and fell onto the ground as a snake formed in front of him. Ella ran and stood in front of him to prevent the snake from attacking him. "NO!" he screamed as Ella fell down from the attack. The snake was going to attack again and with his wand, he tried to counter-attack but the snake managed to make him lose his grip on it and made him toss it across the floor. Edward and Hermione arrived in time to see the snake ready to attack again.
"Confringo!" Hermione called out and the snake was momentarily distracted. Harry and Hermione held hands, waiting for Edward and Ella to join in.
"Get out of here! We'll find you when we can!" Edward called out and all four of them disapparated in the nick of time before the snake attacked yet again.