About a month had passed since the group of eight set out to hunt down the horcruxes Voldemort made so they could destroy them and finally kill the dark lord for good. It hadn't been easy, but they did the best they were able. Harry handled the cooking, but since they had nothing better to do sometimes; he ended up teaching them how to cook basic meals.
The guard shifts were split up evenly, usually pairs for extra protection and it allowed for everyone to be helping out and getting enough sleep. Harry was typically the one to wear the locket and they spent their days researching possible locations of horcruxes, or what else Tom would have thought to use as one. It wasn't going well, though. They moved once a week, different places and mostly all Hermione's ideas. She was the one leading the apparitions, or Harry because they grew up muggle, so they knew places to go within Britain that were away from the general public.
The rest of August 2nd had been peaceful, though, Severus and Harry managed to enjoy a little fun for their wedding anniversary later that night. It wasn't like the rest didn't know what was going on, but who was going to give them a hard time over it. Everyone knew that Severus and Harry were in love, but neither would admit it to the other. Eventually, it would probably come out.
"Students have returned to school," Ron informed the group and lifted the radio. "Aurors had to protect the train while it traveled."
"Death Eaters are looking for Harry. No one else, just him." Hermione frowned.
"I told you no one else would be Tom's target…You traveling with me is dangerous." Harry muttered.
"When has that ever deterred us, Harry?" Ron smiled. "Come on, mate…You, me, and Hermione, the Golden Trio always getting into trouble."
Hermione laughed, so did Harry. "We have gotten into some serious danger, haven't we?" Hermione agreed.
"You've gotten into things that should have landed you three expelled…" Severus rolled his eyes.
"But we didn't because the things we did saved the school or general population." Ron reminded.
"That was your only saving grace," Sirius remarked.
"Our saving grace is Harry," Hermione admitted. "You can't make me believe otherwise. We may have helped him get to the fight, but he's the one fighting."
"She's got a point," Draco shrugged. "Harry is the only one I know who can resist Cruciatus, throw Imperious, and block Killing curses."
"And the only reason I fight is because I'm protecting the people I care about. That would be all of you, a bunch of others back home too. So trust me…It's not all me. You're my drive. I get my strength from those around me." Harry told them.
"It's getting late, we should think about getting some sleep," Narcissa informed.
"I second that idea," Ron yawned. "Night all," He headed into the tent.
Not even five minutes later, the radio was heard louder as it did every night. Ron always turned it up to fall asleep. The problem was that Harry hated listening to the radio, it always talked about the crime level, people who had died or been taken. Draco and Hermione had gone off to grab more firewood, but within the protections set up. Harry pulled the necklace out and held it in his hand.
"Something up, Harry?" Sirius asked.
Harry never answered as he was listening to whispers. "You know the ssspell, Harry…" Voldemort's voice said in Harry's mind.
"Harry?" Severus questioned. Harry's eyes widened as his hand tightened on the necklace. Flashes across his mind of Voldemort cornering a wandmaker, asking about something. The wandmaker only said someone stole the item and he never saw it again, then Voldemort killed the man. Harry snapped out of it, taking hard breaths. "Harry? Harry, what happened?"
"Severus…Give him a few moments to come out of it." Hermione's voice informed.
"Come out of what?" Lucius asked.
"The vision he's having. It's when he sees something through Tom's eyes, or Nagini's. Harry fades from reality because right now…He's there, not here." Hermione stated. "It's what happened when he saw Arthur Weasley attacked, when he told Sirius he wasn't just watching; he was the snake."
"Harry? You alright?" Narcissa inquired.
"He's looking for something. He wants something Gregorovich used to have. But I don't know what it is and Tom wants it desperately." Harry stated. "As if his life depends on it."
"Gregorovich?" Severus wondered.
"The wandmaker?" Sirius arched a curious brow.
"Harry, what did you see?" Hermione questioned.
"Tom had Gregorovich cornered in his shop…Tom was asking where it was. Gregorovich said some boy stole it and he never saw it again, vowing that it was the truth. Tom said he believed him, then killed him." Harry explained. "I saw flashes of whatever Tom was looking for in Gregorovich's mind too. This boy, he was young…Slender figure, long face, hair about Sev's length now, but thinner and blond." He informed.
"I don't know anyone who looks like that," Lucius claimed.
"Nor I," Narcissa nodded.
The radio static hit Harry's ears and he glared back at the tent. "Harry, relax…You know it comforts him to sleep." Hermione reminded.
"It sets my teeth on edge. What's he expecting to hear? Good news?" Harry retorted.
Why was Harry so angry all of a sudden? "I think he's just hoping not to hear bad news," Hermione offered gently.
"We're hearing about people getting kidnapped or killed. How is that not bad news, Hermione? This is war." Harry reminded. "And we're just sitting around while Tom gets more power. I should have just bailed in the middle of the night like I planned and did this alone. It's what I'm good at." He stood up and tried to walk away as Hermione grabbed Harry's arm to keep him in place.
"Take it off." Harry stared at her. "Take it off, Harry. The necklace, take it off now." Hermione demanded. Rolling his eyes, Harry pulled the chain off his neck and over his head before putting it in Hermione's stretched out hand. "Better?"
"Loads." Harry admitted. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean it."
"I know you didn't," Hermione gave him a one-armed hug and kissed his forehead, then she gave a soft smile. "This," She held up the locket. "It's nothing but dark energy feeding on negative emotions like insecurity, pain, anger, and fear like a leech; and that makes it stronger because that's what Tom preys on in victims. He tried to do it to you in fifth year, when he possessed you and you fought back in that moment."
"But this…You've had this for a month. I've been watching how much more impatient or snappy you've gotten when we don't make any progress. I've had my suspicions for a while that the horcrux was causing it because it didn't seem like you." Hermione mentioned.
"He meant the fear, when he said this was war, people are getting kidnapped, tortured, and killed." Draco added.
"And that is normal, for anyone. But my point is we don't need to have that enhanced. We don't need to give Tom more power by letting it ruin our bonds and risk the mission. We'll take it in turns, alright? That goes for everyone…No one wears this for an extended amount of time. Not even a full day." Hermione stated to Harry, and the others.
Draco patted Harry's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay, Harry. Relax…You won't scare us off that easily." He smiled.
"Thanks." Harry replied.
Severus hugged Harry next. "We'll do this together. As I've promised you." Harry nodded and hugged the man back.
"Alright, let's get ready to call it a night." Hermione told everyone. "Who is on first watch?"
"That would be Sirius and I," Narcissa informed. "Think we can handle it for a couple hours, cousin?"
"Pfft, not even a challenge, Cissy." Sirius grinned.
. . .
Another month and a half passed as the horcrux hunters were in mid-October. The 16th, to be specific. As it had been, they moved to different places and discussed possibilities to figure out the horcrux they didn't know about. There were only two Hogwarts Founder items left, the Hufflepuff Cup and the Ravenclaw Diadem.
It had been more than agreed that Nagini, Voldemort's snake, had to be one as well. Harry was right, it didn't make sense that he'd just keep a pet snake for kicks considering he didn't have the ability to love as Harry did with Ivy and Hedwig. Voldemort cherished Nagini because she was a living horcrux, however the hell Voldemort pulled that off. But knowing all this only accounted for six total horcruxes.
And theory said there were seven as it was a powerful, magical number. The diary had been destroyed, it was one less to worry about. The ring was safely away in the box Severus made for it, and left alone in the man's bag. But the locket seemed to be so much stronger, and when in close contact with the ring; the power grew. No one wanted to take the chance of Voldemort figuring out there was a surplus of dark magic energy somewhere or it would be a map right to them.
The locket was still passed around to be worn by the group, they would take turns holding onto it. Given there were twelve hours in a day, and eight people to share it; they switched off every three hours on a basic rotation to make sure no one had it for an extended amount of time and that there was ample time before one person got it again.
Tonight, it was storming out, so everyone was inside and bundled up to stay warm. Everyone had already eaten dinner and worked together to tidy up the tent. Ron was sleeping because he ended up with a cold and sleeping it off with help from some potions. Harry was sitting in a chair while Hermione was snipping his hair with a pair of scissors because it had been getting way too long.
"Alright, so we haven't discussed yet about the locket's location. Harry, you went with Dumbledore…" Draco stated. "Where did it end up being?"
"Some remote cave, protected by magic and Inferi. The horcrux was also in a shallow basin, covered by that Drink of Despair. I never got to ask Dumbledore where the cave was. He apparated us to a large rock just outside, and then we jumped to the cave's entrance." Harry stated. "I know Dumbledore cut his own hand and waved it over a blockade of rocks, and those shifted and fell away to let us in more. We got to the edge of the water, and had to pull a small boat forward on a chain. The boat took us further to the center island, where the pedestal held the basin and that potion."
"Drink of Despair, very dark and powerful. It's meant to cause the drinker to relive their worst nightmares and fears, cause extreme pain and delirium." Severus defined the concoction.
"I had offered to Albus to drink it instead, he told me no. Just to remember my promise of doing what he ordered me to do." Harry stated. "He told me to ignore his pleas to stop giving it to him until it was gone, same with ignoring any cries for help or to even kill him. I know it made him thirsty, but that basin was charmed or something. I couldn't get it to refill with clean water, I had to get water from the lake and that's where the Inferi hid. I got dragged under, but Albus recovered enough to draw them away with fire and then we escaped."
"Okay, so remote cave…" Sirius thought. "That had to have some meaning to Tom, right?"
"I don't know. I never got to ask Dumbledore because he was still weak and suffering from that potion. Once we escaped the cave, we returned to the school and Pettigrew showed up…" Harry mumbled.
"You were viewing memories of Tom Riddle's life, with Albus, weren't you Harry…Looking for the weakness to kill him? Right, that's what you told me?" Severus inquired.
"Yeah, but I don't think there was ever a cave in any of them…" Harry said.
"Well, let's think for a moment…There had to be something. We've figured out the connections regarding the diary; it was his test to be able to make a horcrux. We worked out the ring too. Turning the ring into a horcrux with the murder of his father and hiding it in his mother's family home as a sendoff to get revenge for his father abandoning him and his mother." Narcissa tried.
"Maybe we're looking too much into his life during Hogwarts and after it…Perhaps the cave had meaning to younger Tom Riddle." Hermione suggested.
Harry thought for a moment. "The first memory Dumbledore ever showed me…Was when he met Tom at eleven years old, they were in the orphanage. According to Dumbledore, the woman in charge of the orphanage said Tom was always a weird boy and the kids would tease him. Dumbledore told me Tom had extraordinary magic even as a boy." He explained as he tried to think back to all those nights he spent with Albus going over memories.
"Wait…Wait." Harry thought of something. "The cave! It was in a picture in Tom's room when Dumbledore first met him. Hanging by the window, a shot of the rock Dumbledore and I landed on and then the cave itself…"
"So perhaps the cave is something Tom remembered from childhood." Draco offered.
"What was the name, Harry? Of the orphanage?" Lucius asked.
"Wool's Orphanage. London. Albus told me that Tom was born there, his mother showed up in labor, gave birth within an hour…Died within the next. Tom never really cried as an infant, had no connections to anyone. He was bullied and teased, hated going back there…He tried to ask Headmaster Dippet, at the time, to reside at the school and was refused." Harry mentioned. "Wow…I can see why he thinks we're so alike."
"You are most certainly not!" Severus dismissed the idea.
"It's…Not that far off, Sev. Tom and I were both raised in places we hated, with rough childhoods. No matter what we did, we were forced to stay there…The only difference is that I was not born of a love potion. I had my parents, who loved one another on their own. I was surrounded by love, I grew up with friends and have people I consider family through them. I also managed to get away from my relatives, and then again got away when things got bad with Siri. Sorry," He said to his godfather, who waved it off as understanding his fault.
"I…Had help. Tom did not. I got everything Tom did not and because of his inability to feel or understand love; he was drawn into hating basically everything. He hated muggles because of his father's abandonment. He hates half-bloods because he is one. He wants people to fear him, bow to him. He wants control. He wants what he didn't have the power to do, control the outcome."
"Okay, but still…You're not evil, Harry." Sirius reminded. "Maybe you two are similar, but you are very different as well. You could have walked the same path with all you've endured, but you didn't. You didn't let it douse your light. You rose above, you survived, and it made you stronger."
"That's why Tom can't beat you. He has nothing to lose, while you have everything. You are stronger because you are not selfish, and you fight for everyone but yourself. I told you before…We all have light and dark inside us, it's what we choose to act on…That is what defines us, and makes us who we truly are."
"Back to the cave…I would assume the orphanage probably took the kids on small holidays, so perhaps the cave was close to the orphanage and that would be our connection to why Tom hid a horcrux there." Narcissa remarked. "It's the only link we have, it makes the most sense."
"That still leaves us figuring out what other places he could hide horcruxes. Would he have hidden one at the orphanage?" Draco asked.
"Not a chance. He hated that place…It wouldn't serve any meaning to him to hide part of his soul." Harry stated as Hermione snipped another piece of hair.
"Well, we know Bella has one, whether that be the unknown item or the remaining two founder things." Severus mentioned. "Her vault is still a location, we just need to figure out how to get into it."
"Bill said the goblins would only consider the idea if we could prove there was an item in there. To do that, Harry would need to be standing inside the vault to see if he could sense anything." Lucius commented.
"Then there is the problem of destroying the bloody things. If Tom catches onto what we're doing, we may have to get rid of them sooner to weaken him. I can't imagine that destroying parts of his soul wouldn't hurt and weaken him over time. If things go that way, we don't have Ivy…And nothing else will destroy them." Harry reminded. "Or nothing we've figured out, at least."
"Oh my God…" Hermione suddenly stopped and left Harry in the chair, the teenager instantly sat up to check his hair.
"What?" Harry asked.
"I'll tell you in a minute." Hermione said as she went over to the makeshift table where they ate inside at times, flipping through a book. Harry got out of the chair and went over to her, the rest shrugged and joined.
"Maybe…You can tell me now what revelation you've had." Harry stated.
"The sword of Gryffindor…" Hermione said.
"Is not a horcrux and we already established that, with Dumbledore, in fact." Harry told her.
"No, you don't understand," Hermione laughed a little. "It's goblin made."
"Brilliant…What exactly does that mean?" Draco questioned.
"Dirt and rust have no effect on the blade. It only takes in that which makes it stronger." Hermione recited from the book. "Harry, you already destroyed one horcrux. Tom Riddle's diary, in the chamber, remember?"
"Yes, I quite clearly remember the event, Hermione." Harry remarked. "With a Basilisk fang, though. If you tell me you've got a random one hidden in the bloody beaded bag of yours…" As soon as he said it, Hermione lightly whacked him with the book in her hands.
"Is this…Normal for them?" Narcissa asked the other four standing with her.
"Hermione figuring out the logical answer to things?" Sirius chuckled. "She's the brains of the Golden Trio. I expected nothing less."
"I, sadly, cannot disagree with you there," Severus nodded.
"Harry! In the chamber of secrets, you stabbed the Basilisk with the sword…" Hermione pushed. "Its blade is impregnated with the venom of the Basilisk."
Harry's eyes widened. "It only takes in that what makes it stronger…It can destroy horcruxes."
"Yes!" The teenager beamed.
"You are…Brilliant, Hermione!" Harry praised.
"That's why Dumbledore left you the sword in his will." Hermione said gently.
"That still leaves us with a problem, though…" Harry began.
Just then, the lights went out in the tent and everyone was on guard, preparing their wands. However, the lights returned to their places, and it left them looking at Ron who looked angry and holding up his Deluminator, that only Harry and Hermione had known of him possessing.
"Yeah…I'm still here." Ron stated.
