The ring had been transported with the utmost reverence, kept in the box it had been found in to prevent anyone from touching it. Hermione's intrinsic understanding of the horcrux had made it abundantly clear that attempting to destroy it with the sword of Godric Gryffindor, as they had done the previous time, was out of the equation. Which meant they were left with a deadly object in their possession and a warning of potential fatality, which wasn't exactly the sort of mental hurdle you wanted to deal with when exam season was on the horizon.

Harry and Hermione had shown a level of authority following the incident that shouldn't have made sense. The pair had come to the decision that, with the years stacking against him, Dumbledore would be quick to sacrifice himself if that was the only way of being rid of the cursed artefact. Understandably, Harry had protested strongly against such a proposition, which was why they hadn't trusted the elderly headmaster to keep the ring under his watch. There was no telling what he'd do without their supervision, as if two teenagers needed to keep the experienced man under observation.

Which was why the horcrux ended up in the Tardis.

Whilst they struggled to come up with a way to safely dispose of the item, they'd known that the blue box was the safest location. And with Hermione the sole owner of said ship and the only one with a key, there was no chance of Dumbledore conspiring behind their backs. He'd obviously argued that he wouldn't do anything subversive, but Harry had come to learn that his mentor often kept most of the truth to himself. If he wanted them involved in the search for horcruxes, then that meant they occasionally had to play by their rules.

"I can't stop thinking about it," Harry admitted.

They were in the common room. With OWLS imminent, most of their year was crammed into the space, huddling around heavy books in a last ditch attempt to revise. Harry was more grateful than ever that, thanks to Hermione's influence, they'd gotten a head start on that particular quandary. It was just a shame that another problem had reared its ugly head. A problem that had the potential of leaving a nasty bite in its wake.

Despite the fact that they'd covered every topic under the sun, Hermione still had her nose pressed against scrolls of parchment, as if she was planning on absorbing the information rather than simply reading it. Harry had abandoned his efforts to tell her to calm her behaviour long ago, having realised that such attempts would fall upon deaf ears. But he was pleased to find that his friend was willing to look away from her work following his comment, a sign that she wasn't as completely oblivious to her surroundings as he'd initially thought.

"I understand what you mean," she replied, keeping her voice low, though their fellow students were far too stressed about exams to eavesdrop on their conversation. "It's one of the reasons why I'm revising so much, just so that it might distract me. I'm disappointed to say that it's not working."

"Are you telling me that Hermione Granger has an ulterior motive when it comes to studying?"

She rolled her eyes. "It almost sounds like a betrayal of my ways, doesn't it?"

"I wasn't going to say it…"

"Learning and reading have always been a safety blanket for me, protecting me from the outside world. Since I arrived at Hogwarts, I've been able to mellow out in regards to that." She noticed his pointed look. "Partially, at least. It seems that, given the situation, I've fallen back on old habits."

"You can't be blamed for searching for some sense of normality."

"It's just…how cold it all felt, when it was reaching out towards us. An object shouldn't have that much hatred within it."

"I suppose it's easier to see it as an extension of Voldemort rather than an object."

"Even so…it keeps playing on my mind. I've had difficulty sleeping. I haven't been answering nearly as many questions in class. All because I know it's waiting for us. And it won't go away until we figure out a way to safely get rid of it. The issue is…"

"...we don't know whether there actually is a safe way to do this."

"Precisely."

"Are you sure the sword wouldn't work?"

"I'm not sure about anything when it comes to this, which is something else I hate about the situation. But destroying it physically, trying to crack it like the locket…I got the sense that it wanted us to go down that route. As if, as soon as we attacked, it'd be able to pounce. And there's no telling what sort of result that could bring about."

"What if we don't do it physically? What if we use magic instead?"

"I doubt a normal spell would scratch the surface, I'm afraid."

"And what if I'm not talking about normal magic? Maybe we've been training for a reason we didn't even realise at first."

"You can't possibly mean…"

"Matthew seemed to suggest, when we encountered the locket, that a concentrated pulse of pure magic had the potential of doing the job. It was only because the poison of the Basilisk had a track record that we tried the other route."

"You're forgetting that we don't have Matthew by our side anymore."

Harry was sure that he would never forget that point. He was also sure that he hadn't heard Hermione sound so defeated, at least since their friend's untimely passing. It was depressing to witness, as if the horcrux was sapping away her energy despite the fact that it was nowhere near them. Harry only wished that he could take that burden from her, that he could harness his own pure magic in the same fashion as she did to get a better reading of its dark aura.

"And you're forgetting that we've both showcased the ability to use that magic before."

"In stressful, life or death moments."

"Exactly. Based on recent experiences, this is going to be one of those moments. Maybe that'll mean our pure magic will kick in."

"And what if it doesn't?"

"Then we'll find another way to destroy the horcrux. If our magic doesn't work, you've already said that it won't leave a dent on the ring. Surely that means there's no harm done in trying."

"You're being incredibly nonchalant about a deadly artefact, Harry."

"Mainly because we've dealt with so many over the years. We're basically experts by now."

"You're not going to listen to sound reason, are you?"

"It's almost as if you've spent years in my company."

"Can I suggest a compromise?"

"I'm at least willing to listen with an open mind…"

"That makes a change."

"It's almost as if you want me to defy you."

She smirked. "Can we wait until we've done our exams?" She held up her hand, as if she expected him to argue against her suggestion. "I know that you don't think they're nearly as important as defeating Voldemort, which I suppose could be argued in a certain light. But we both already understand that it takes the utmost concentration, or paradoxically a complete relaxing of the mind, to harness our pure magic. I don't think we'd be able to use that power effectively with exams proverbially tapping on our shoulders. Frankly, the way I see it, this will give us the best chance of succeeding."

"You make a good point."

"You sound surprised."

"It's not as if it's going to be too long before we've taken the final test."

"Precisely."

"And it gives us a bit more time to maybe practise that magic, like we're warming up for the big game."

"That…goes against my idea of concentrating on one thing at a time, but I'm just glad to have you onboard."

"You must know by now that I'd be willing to follow anything you say, 'Mione."

"Still…it's nice to be reassured."

"We've got another problem to contend with, of course."

She rolled her eyes. "Because that's the usual standard, yes."

"Will Dumbledore let us do this? Will Sirius? Will your parents? If they know that there's a risk of dying, they won't let us anywhere near the ring. Even if we tell them that our plan basically reduces the chances of dying to zero, they won't take the risk."

"We're going to have to be sneaky."

"You're fine with not telling them?"

"Like you said, they'll stand in our way. And Dumbledore would only put himself forward to bear the brunt of the attack."

"You're so different from the girl I first met."

Hermione beamed with pride. "Matthew always spoke about being a corruptive influence. I'm disheartened to see just how successful he ended up being."

"If he found out you were planning on going against the headmaster…"

"Stop putting it like that before I chicken out."

"We'll have to find a way to Diagon Alley so that we can actually get inside the Tardis. Obviously, apparating with Dumbledore is out of the equation, for obvious reasons."

"The Floo Network?"

"Only the professors have access to that in the school."

"Like I said - we'll have to be sneaky."

xxxxxxxxxx

After everything that the school had been put through in the recent past, from an escaped murderer roaming the grounds, to the tumultuous events of the Triwizard Tournament and the death of one of its residents, the mood of the student populace was one of the most celebratory Harry could safely remember. At least for their year. The OWLS had been navigated, with some of their number looking more pleased about that than others.

On Harry's part, his brain felt like mush and his hand was surely about to fall off at any second, but that didn't stop the sense of achievement washing over him. He believed he'd done well, a fact that wouldn't be either confirmed or ridiculed until the summer arrived, which would play a key role in what his future held. As long as exterior forces remained at bay, which didn't seem entirely likely. Years of dedication to the academic side of life had served him well, as long as he'd coherently put those thoughts onto the parchment.

There was another element to his potential success, or at least the feeling of glory. It would have been easy for him to have ignored the mundane aspects of school work, pushing that to one side in favour of focusing on the threat that defined his existence. In truth, he'd contemplated doing exactly that and had voiced such sentiments to various people. Would they have stood in his way if he'd made that decision? How could they when they didn't remotely understand what it was like to be in his position?

Ultimately, Harry had decided not to go down that route and he had Matthew to thank for that in a roundabout fashion. The boy had been one of the major influences in inspiring Harry to become besotted with the art of studying, encouraging him to uncover every and any fact about the magical world. In a sense, Harry hadn't wanted to let Matthew down by failing the exams, as if doing so would somehow tarnish the boy's memory.

Naturally, knowing what came after the exams was enough of a motivation to get them done with. Harry had been on the verge of bringing up their plans with Hermione as soon as they'd left the Great Hall following their Defence Against the Dark Arts test. But, against all the odds, he was much smarter than that. And so he gave his friend a day to recover from the torment, from the bane of any student's existence, so that they could dive headfirst into another, yet different dose of torture.

"You're practically bouncing with nervous energy."

Hermione eyed him sceptically as they stood outside, enjoying the rare presence of sunshine in the Highlands. Frequenting the grounds of the school also meant that they blended in with the other students who were partying over surviving another year of education, which ensured no one would be suspicious of their intentions. Not that anyone was actually bothered about the two of them, too interested as they were in their own success (or lack of complete and utter failure).

"I don't want to wait any longer," he replied, refusing to apologise for his behaviour.

"You're like a child seeing the ice cream truck heading down the road."

"Except the treat I'm looking for is actually a top secret, cursed artefact that seems hell bent on killing us."

"I normally go for vanilla, myself."

"I won't believe you if you say you're not itching to do this. You must have been thinking about it non stop."

"Are you sure that you actually revised for your exams? Because it's sounding an awful lot like your attention has been elsewhere. You wouldn't lie to me, would you, Harry? You must surely know what a dangerous game that is."

"Let's just agree to leave those exams in the past."

"You're not filling me with confidence. I don't want to be in classes without you, Harry. I already had to go through Matthew getting expelled. People will start to think ill of me if it happens to another of my friends."

"Come on, I'm tired of beating around the bush. How are we going to do this?"

"Can't we just enjoy the sun for a bit longer? All that talk of ice cream has made my stomach groan."

"It's exactly because of the sun that we've got a shot at doing this. Everyone's outside. Therefore, the castle is as unattended as it'll ever be. We've snuck around those corridors so many times that we should be able to do it with our eyes closed."

"What are you suggesting? We break into Professor Dumbledore's office and hop into his fireplace?"

"It wouldn't exactly be breaking and entering, would it? We know the password."

She glared daggers at him. "You know that's not the point I'm trying to make."

"You want to destroy the horcrux as much as me."

"I know."

"You also don't want anyone else to put themselves at risk."

"I know. These are all valid arguments."

"Then I don't understand why we're still standing here."

Harry knew that he was falling back on old habits. He could admit that he had the tendency to rush into things headfirst. That involved falling down a trapdoor in their first year, falling down a pipe into the Chamber of Secrets in their second year, and getting conned by a cat in their third year. He didn't really have the best track record but, all in all, those decisive actions had ended up serving them well, allowing them to save the day. Why fix something that wasn't broken?

"Because…those professors have done so much for us. Don't you think that this is some sort of…betrayal? They've increased the security around Hogwarts ever since Voldemort returned, and that's largely because you're here. We'd be defying the safety protocols that were designed with us in mind!"

"For the greater good."

"I hate it whenever you say that."

"I don't remember using it before."

"You could basically have it printed on a t-shirt. Hey, at least I've just sorted what to get you for your birthday. I was starting to run out of ideas."

"If I make it to my birthday."

"Harry James Potter."

He was quick to hold up his hands. "I was trying to make a joke!"

"Don't give up your day job to become a comedian anytime soon, that's all I'll say on the matter."

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to sneak into Dumbledore's office," Harry allowed. "Not only because he always seems to be there, no matter the weather. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that he's added charms to his Floo Network. Maybe we'd set off an alarm by using it. Or maybe he'd be able to track where we went."

"I think it's going to be fairly obvious what our destination is, regardless of whether there's a spell involved."

"That's if they automatically assume we've left through our own free will. There's every chance they'll think that we've somehow been captured."

Harry knew immediately that he'd made a mistake. That was clear to see from the way Hermione's face fell at his conclusion, her body demeanour growing even tenser, something he hadn't thought was possible. He'd been so close to getting her on his side, only to create another fire that he now needed to put out. If that didn't sum up his life, then nothing did.

"Oh, Harry! I'm sorry but we can't do this! Just imagine how panicked everyone is going to be. I don't want to think about the looks on their faces when we return. I pride myself on avoiding any sort of disappointment. Now you're wanting me to actively seek it out."

"They won't be disappointed when they realise we've destroyed another horcrux. Well…most of them won't be told about that because it's meant to be on a need-to-know basis, but you know what I mean."

"And if we don't destroy the horcrux?"

"Then we'll hold up our hands and own our decision. No matter how worried you are, 'Mione, you know this is something we have to try. We don't want it to be down to us, but it always seems to be the case. We haven't backed down from a fight so far, and I'm not about to start."

"You know…I almost thought it would be easier to convince you to think rationally without Matthew being here to goad you. And yet it's like you're trying to make up for his absence by turning your brashness all the way up to 11."

"How else would he want me to keep his memory alive?"

She smirked and that was when he truly knew that he had her onboard. Because, as much as she claimed to be the most level headed of their friendship, she'd still been subjected to their bad influence over the years. And, just like Harry, there was a sense that she was wanting to keep that tradition alive, as if that would make it feel like Matthew was still with them. He'd shaped them both and had ultimately left them as troublemakers, which he'd always hoped for.

"I think our best bet is actually going through Lupin."

"Remus will never let us do this!"

"I'm not suggesting that we tell him about what we're planning. Of course not. If he let us go on our way after finding out about that, I'd be seriously questioning his credentials as a teacher. But I'm fairly certain that the fireplace in his office is fully connected to the network, allowing people to come through rather than just have a conversation."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Harry…Sirius is there all the time."

"Well, that makes sense. They're best friends."

"I think it's a bit more than that."

It took him a few minutes to figure out what she was implying. "You don't mean…"

"That's one hurdle that we don't have time to cross right now. I'll just say that it's absolutely sweet if it's what I think it is, though don't say anything to them! The last thing they'd need is added pressure from us."

"But we could use that to our advantage."

Hermione didn't look like she enjoyed that particular line of thought. "I'm worried as to where you're going with this."

"We could give them a bit of a shove and create a much needed distraction all at the same time."

"This is on me, isn't it? I mentioned Professor Lupin. Whatever happens next is my fault, isn't it?"

"It's good to see that you're finally taking ownership of your meddling mind, 'Mione."

xxxxxxxxxx

When Lupin opened the door, there was no reason for him to be surprised at finding Hermione waiting for him. Whilst it wasn't a regular occurrence for her to turn up unannounced, especially without Harry in tow, she was the sort of student who was always looking for answers to some complicated question. That apparently was still the case even when exams had been finished. It didn't account for the uneasiness of her expression or the gentle rocking she was going through on the balls of her feet, which should have been his first clue that everything wasn't as it seemed.

"Miss Granger," he said. "To what do I owe this pleasure? Shouldn't you be enjoying the long awaited sense of freedom now that your studies are at an end?"

"I think you know by now, Professor, that my studies are never over. I doubt, even after I've finished Hogwarts, I'll truly stop."

"All the best people are like that, mark my words. It's why you remind me so much of myself."

She blushed. "That means a lot, Professor."

"Is there…a reason for you popping by? Not that I mind the company."

"Well…it's just that…Defence Against the Dark Arts was our final exam…"

"I'm well aware."

"And…I thought it went well…so…I thought…as my professor…you should know that."

Lupin knitted his brow together. "Is everything okay, Miss Granger?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Professor."

The squeakiness of her voice suggested otherwise.

"Is someone putting you up to this?"

"Well…all I was told was to stall you long enough so that he could make sure the picnic was properly arranged."

"...picnic?"

From behind her back, she produced a small, black rose. A length of ratty string had been attached to the stem, which had a short message scribbled onto it. I've waited long enough. Meet me at the Quidditch stadium - S. And Lupin couldn't help but smile softly at the missive, almost forgetting that the young teenager was still standing there.

"What's the old dog up to?"

"I'm fairly certain that you'll have to meet with him to find out. That's something that I couldn't possibly reveal."

He looked down at his slightly scruffy clothes. "Tell me…do I look alright? I know that's not the sort of question that a professor tends to pose to a student, but I've come to respect your opinion, Miss Granger. And if Sirius has roped you into whatever games he's playing, then it's only fair that I pick the right mind."

"You look lovely, Professor," she assured him with a smile.

Hermione might have waved him off, so hurried she seemed to be to get rid of him. She was tapping her foot, accentuating that impatience. Lupin, not really knowing what to do, looked back to his office, wondering whether he needed to bring anything, and then proceeded to walk away. The Quidditch stadium. It was a peculiar place to host whatever this was, unless Sirius was planning on evoking the memories of numerous weekends spent cheering on their fellow Lions. Maybe it was actually perfect, rather than peculiar.

Only once Lupin had rounded the corner did Harry appear, sneaking from the opposite direction. He still made sure to tread carefully, fearful that the professor would turn around for some reason or another. Watching from afar, it had been touch and go to see if Hermione would succeed in luring him away. He should never have doubted her mind, and was now close to applauding her for her efforts, regardless of how queasy she now looked.

"I just witnessed Hermione Granger lie to a professor," Harry remarked, sporting a smirk.

"I feel awful," she declared in response. "Is it normal for my skin to feel so itchy as a result? It's like my body is punishing me for being a bad person."

"You're not a bad person, Hermione."

"I've made that poor man walk all the way to the Quidditch stadium under the impression that he's about to share his first date with someone."

"You never know, it might not be their first date. They could have been sneaking around our back all this time. If that's the case, this is only a form of justice."

"You're not helping, Harry."

"I thought that was a pretty good point I'd come up with on the spot. Tough crowd."

"He's going to be so disappointed and he'll associate that feeling with me. Our working relationship will never be the same again."

"Look, yes, he'll initially be disheartened." Harry held up a hand before she started weeping. "But then he'll reach out to Sirius, he'll ask what's going on, they'll bicker for a bit, and then they'll finally realise what's been staring them in the face. If you look at it like that, we're basically doing something nice for them."

"You sound so much like Matthew that it's frightening."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I don't know whether it is one."

"The good thing is that it'll take Lupin a fair while to walk to the Quidditch grounds and, by the time they're done professing their love for one another, we'll be long gone. We've got a valuable window of opportunity. One that I'm not going to waste."

With that said, he walked into the classroom, a familiar setting for him by now. He was even used to it being eerily quiet thanks to his Dementor training in the Third Year. Harry was happy to see that Hermione followed him without further complaint, though her arms were folded as if she was partaking in a form of silent protest. If it remained in that fashion, then he could live with that.

Now that he was finally getting close to what he'd been thinking about for far too long, he wasn't about to rest on his laurels. He couldn't have skipped up the steps leading towards Lupin's office more quickly, and Hermione did well to keep up with his frantic pace. Harry imagined she only did so because she was worried he'd go off on his own without thinking, with how eager he was. But moving so fast also meant that he didn't have time to fully process the guilt he was feeling at trespassing, at going behind the back of an old friend, which was the only tactic keeping him head strong.

"Are you sure about this?" Hermione asked one last time as they stood by the fireplace. "We could be about to step into a world of trouble."

"That sounds like our typical day. You're not going to change my mind. If you want to back out…"

"I'm going to stop you before you even finish that ridiculous comment. I'd never let you do something like this on your own. If you're going down, I'm coming with you. And I hope you realise that's a mindset I wouldn't have dreamt of having a good few years ago. Everything was so much simpler back then."

"But far less entertaining, am I right?"

She grinned. "You might be onto something."