Days went by since Harry was informed that his beloved wand he'd had since his eleventh birthday had broken on a backfired blasting curse by Hermione trying to keep Nagini away from them in Godric's Hollow. Hermione had pleaded forgiveness from Harry, but he only made a joke and mentioned how screwed they were without it.
He'd been the only one with the ability to block the killing curse, provided it had been against Voldemort's own wand because they shared the same Phoenix Feather core. The wands allowed for Harry and Voldemort to wound, but not kill one another with them. And since the only person who had announced they would kill Harry was Voldemort, that meant the other Death Eaters might fire off spells to capture him, they couldn't kill him.
Harry had been pretty quiet lately, and no one was giving him a hard time about it. Multiple attempts had been made to restore the wand, but it would not repair and eventually Draco said that perhaps Ollivander might be able to fix it. Harry continued to carry the pieces around with him and during guard shifts where he would continue doing it without a partner.
He typically used Hermione and Severus's wand as a replacement. Those were the only two that reacted well to Harry and allowed him to wield them. Currently, it was New Year's Eve and they were in the Forest of Dean. A place of Hermione's choosing, she said she used to come a lot with her parents as a child.
The last few days had been discussions about the book Hermione found in Bathilda's house, the Life and Lies about Albus Dumbledore by Rita Skeeter. No one liked the woman, but the book seemed to have information about Albus and now they were using it to see if there was any other place Albus may have hid the sword of Gryffindor.
"Ha-Harry?" Hermione asked as the male glanced over to her. "This was the boy you asked Nagini as Bathilda about, isn't it? The one from the photograph before she took you upstairs?" Hermione gave the book to Harry as he looked.
"Yeah. He was in a lot of photos with a young Dumbledore as well in an album I looked at upstairs before Nagini made herself known." Harry stated. "Why are you stammering when you talk to me?"
"I know you're angry with me for breaking your wand." Hermione told him.
"I'm not happy about it, no, but what's done is done. It can't be fixed, not by any of us, at least." Harry remarked. "You didn't have time to give it back to me, Nagini attacked and you reacted. It was an accident. I don't presume to assume you purposely wanted something to happen to my wand." He told her as she shook her head.
"Then relax, would you? I'm not angry. I've just accepted what is. My wand is gone, and if Ollivander can't fix it…I suppose when the war is over, I'll just have to get a new one." He paused. "Now, why did you want to show me who the boy in the picture is?"
"He's someone named Gellert Grindelwald." Hermione informed "Apparently, he and Dumbledore were best friends in their youth."
"Then that is who stole whatever Tom is searching for." Harry said. "I saw him in the vision of Tom killing Gregorovich, a young boy crouched in the window frame, then jumping out."
"Grindelwald was the dark wizard trying to have the wizarding world rise above the muggles; he ruled before Tom ever did. It's said that Albus defeated him." Narcissa mentioned.
"Then Grindelwald has whatever Tom wants…" Draco enlightened. "Right?"
"Not likely. Grindelwald has been locked in Nurmengard Castle, rather, his prison now since 1945. Albus did defeat him, they had been best friends…" Severus added.
"And lovers, according to this." Hermione tapped the book. "They met as teenagers in Godric's Hollow. Gellert was living with his Great Aunt, Bathilda Bagshot. Originally, Grindelwald had been attending Durmstrang, but expelled for dark magic experiments at sixteen."
"This also says that Albus and Gellert made plans to lead a Wizarding revolution to end the International Statute of Secrecy, and create a new wizard-led order that would dominate Muggles. At seventeen, their partnership fell apart after the two were involved in a three-way duel with Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, that resulted in the death of Dumbledore's sister, Ariana." She continued to explain.
"Well, if Grindelwald doesn't have whatever Tom wants, then…Someone else must. That's what Tom is after, as I said, pretty desperately." Harry mentioned.
"As we said, Grindelwald has been locked up in Nurmengard since 1945. Still alive too. That place is located in the Austrian Alps." Severus offered.
"Then I suspect that is where Tom will eventually go. In 1945 when Grindelwald was defeated, Tom had to be out of Hogwarts by then so I'm sure he knew of Dumbledore and Grindelwald's battle. If it's as legendary as the book states, there isn't anyone who lived in that time that doesn't know about it." Harry informed.
"I'll keep watching for visions, they seem to come at random. If anything, they can serve as a warning to when he might be getting closer to whatever he's after. Perhaps I can figure it out." He added.
"Just be careful, Harry…We don't want him figuring out you've been seeing things." Sirius warned.
"On that…I think it's time we find the sword and destroy the horcruxes we have." Harry mentioned.
"I thought you wanted to wait." Severus reminded.
"That was before we ran into Nagini…Before I realized it was her, she was zeroed in on the locket. She's a horcrux herself as we've confirmed she is…I'm betting that she can sense the others. No different than the link Tom and I have." The green-eyed teen paused.
"I'm sure she's reported to Tom by now that I had the locket. We don't need to risk getting captured and having these items on us. They'll be taken and rehidden. All we've done this far will be for nothing…So as soon as we find the sword, we destroy the ring and the locket." Harry informed.
"I agree with Harry…" Lucius nodded.
"Now there's just the problem of finding that blasted sword." Draco commented.
"It should appear to any worthy Gryffindor, as Scrimgeour said during the will reading." Hermione offered.
"Well, that would be you and Sirius then because the rest of us are Slytherin." Harry told her.
"I think it would still appear to you, Harry…You might have been resorted to Slytherin, but the hat always wanted you there from first year and the sword still appeared to you down in the chamber." Hermione reminded.
"Who knows. It's not appearing right now, so either it's somewhere it can't get to us or we're not worthy…" Harry mumbled. "It's getting late, we should get some sleep…" He added.
"Narcissa and I have first watch." Hermione said.
"I'll take the last one since Sirius and Draco took the early morning for today." Harry said. "I'll take your wand, Hermione, when we switch off."
"Right." Hermione nodded.
. . .
Narcissa and Hermione were on guard from 10:00 pm to 1 am, then Harry woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, so despite it being way earlier; he told the girls to go to bed and he'd stay up the rest of the way. It might be long, but he could always let the crash hit after breakfast and sleep later when the others would be awake.
Harry not only took Hermione's wand for the shift, but the locket too. It had been proven that while everyone else could end up affected by the locket after a couple hours, Harry could go days before it got to him.
About now, it was 5:30 am as Harry was bundled up and sitting against the nearest tree to the tent. It was freezing out, but he was as bundled as he could be, wand in hand. He wasn't tired of course, and typically Severus was first up around 6 am, sometimes 6:30 am. If he got up before the rest, he would usually come out to sit with Harry and keep him company with coffee or tea to warm up. At the moment, it was quiet, but something caught Harry's eye. Something blue or silvery, in the form of a ball.
"Patronus message?" Harry first thought quietly. Harry rose to his feet, as the ball took form of a silver doe. Okay, that was just a little odd. Harry knew the others would be fine, they always were, and he walked towards the doe. It began to walk away and Harry followed it down the path to the nearby lake.
The doe returned to a ball and went past the ice as Harry walked out onto the frozen lake and swiped frost. To his shock, down at the bottom of the shallow waters laid the sword of Gryffindor. "Accio sword." Nothing. Harry knew he should wake the others, but he could do this. What if they couldn't get it either? "Diffindo." Harry cast to cut a large hole in the ice, then he went back land and stripped down to his boxers and returned to the hole.
Taking a deep breath, Harry leapt in and went to grab the sword. As soon as he touched the metal, the horcrux reacted and tried to strangle him. Harry tried to fight, and pull it off while also running out of air. Harry tried to break the ice as he wasn't near the hole anymore.
Someone was walking above him, he saw the shadow of a person as he was losing consciousness. The next thing he knew, he was being dragged out of the water, slid across the ice back to land. His glasses weren't on, but the person who saved him had brought the objects over while Harry struggled to catch his breath.
"S-Sev?" Harry asked. "Dray, any of you?"
"Are you mental?" Harry knew that voice as he looked over to see Ron standing there, wet, panting, and holding the sword in hand.
"It was you who pulled me out?" Harry inquired as he fought to get back to the edge, then started pulling on his clothes.
"Well, yeah. Can't let my best mate die," Ron stated.
"And you cast the doe as well?" Harry inquired.
"Um, no…That one wasn't me. I-I thought it had been you. It led me here when I arrived, I saw you jump in…But when you didn't come back up, I came after you." Ron explained.
"My patronus is a stag," Harry reminded his friend.
"That bloody necklace tried to kill you, Harry…I know you want to save it for the end, but…" Ron began.
"No, we agreed tonight that after a run-in with Nagini back on Christmas Eve, she's likely told Tom that I have the locket and he'll know what it is. We said it was time to get the sword and destroy the ones we have, to prevent a capture and losing them." Harry pulled on his shirt, sweater, then socks and shoes.
"Well, you have the locket and I have the sword…Let's get rid of it, right now, send that bastard some pain?" Ron grinned. Harry smiled as he pulled the locket off and set it on the ground.
"Alright…It's going to put up a fight, and I think I have to open it for us to destroy what's inside. Don't hesitate, Ron…Whatever you do. Remember, it preys on insecurities, fear, anger…" Harry said.
"Got it." Ron tossed down his bag and held the sword. Harry nodded to him and he nodded back. Harry hissed out something and the locket flicked open releasing a large black cloud. It affected Harry, his scar burning as he hit the ground. "Harry?!" He said with concern.
"D-Destroy it!" Harry told him, trying to cover his ears.
"I've seen your heart," Spoke Tom's voice. "I know what you fear, Ronald Weasley." It added as spiders came crawling towards Ron and he tried to back away. "Unloved by a mother who craved a daughter. The woman you love prefers another…" There in the smoke appeared an image of Harry and Hermione, holding hands.
"We were better without you." Said the smokey Harry to him. "Who are you to Harry Potter? The chosen one. You are nothing. Nothing. Nothing." Smoke Hermione stated. "Your mum said she would have preferred me as a son." Smoke Harry added.
"Don't listen to it, Ron! It's a lie, you know it. You and Hermione are my best friends in the world. You're family." Harry tried to tell him.
The image to Ron in the smoke was Harry and Hermione making out. Ron stood up, ignoring all his fears and raced forward to bring the sword down through the smoke and hit the locket. Instantly, everything disappeared and the locket lay broken and with a sword mark on the metal. "Well, he certainly knows how to mess with someone…Bloody hell."
"I told you it would put up a fight…" Harry panted as he got up.
"Yeah, you alright?" Ron put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah. Thanks…For saving me." Harry replied.
"Hey, you're my brother…" Ron admitted. "I'm sorry about our row. Nothing I said was true…I know you're with Snape and see Hermione like a sister. You know you're my family."
"I know, Ron…I'm sorry we fought. I know it's hard to be away from everyone we care about. What's…Gotten me by is knowing we're doing this to protect them. If we had stayed, you know they'd be in more danger." Harry revealed.
"I know," Ron agreed.
"Come on, let's get back to camp. The others will be waking up soon and I'm sure they'll be worried where I've gotten off too." Harry stated as he grabbed Hermione's wand, not that Ron realized it. Ron grabbed the sword, and the broken horcrux as they began making their way back to camp. Chatting the whole way as the darkness of the night slowly became early morning. Thankfully, when they got back, no one had woken yet.
"Surprise 'em?" Ron inquired.
"Definitely." Harry smiled. "Hey! Hey, guys! Wake up." He called. It did not take long for them to race out of the tent believing there was danger, but they all saw Ron there.
Hermione was last out. "What is it, what's wrong?" Harry motioned to Ron with a smile and Hermione noticed.
"Hey." Ron greets with a smile.
Hermione narrowed her eyes and marched forward. "Oh, shit…" Draco stated.
"You." Hermione took off Ron's bag. "Complete," She paused to throw some frozen leaves at him as Ron looked so confused. "Ass, Ronald Weasley! You show up here after weeks, and you say hey?" She demanded, using his bag to whack him. Hermione turned to Harry. "Where is my wand, Harry? Where is it?" She asked as Harry tried to back away.
"I don't have it." He lied and she knew that as he was trying to take cover behind his husband.
"Harry Potter-Snape, you give me my wand!" Hermione demanded.
"Harry, you're not afraid of anything…But you're hiding behind Severus?" Sirius asked.
"Don't you judge me, Sirius. Hermione has done things that would scare the Dark Lord. When she's mad, I'd apparate to another planet to get away from her…I've seen what that woman can do without a wand…Nevermind with one…" Harry ducked behind his lover's shoulder when the muggleborn witch smirked. SMIRKED.
"Why does he got your wand?" Ron inquired.
"Never mind why he has my wand!" Hermione faced Ron again, then noticed the broken horcrux locket. "What is that?" Ron held it up. "You destroyed it?"
"Yeah, me and Harry, down by the lake just a bit ago." Ron stated proudly.
"And how is it you have the sword of Gryffindor?" Hermione pushed, arms folded over one another.
"It's kind of a long story," Harry supplied.
"Don't think this changes anything!" Hermione turned to get back into the tent.
"Oh, of course not. Why would it change anything?" Ron said as Hermione looked at him now. "I just destroyed a bloody horcrux. Why would that change anything? Look…I wanted to come back as soon as I left…But I didn't know how to find you."
"How did you find us?" Sirius asked now. "We know Harry or Severus can get to each other because of their bond, but-…" He paused.
"With this," Ron held up the Deluminator. "It doesn't just turn off lights. Dunno how it works, but I was sleeping in some pub, trying to keep away from some snatchers. Then I heard it," He explained, smiling. "A voice. Your voice, Hermione…Coming out of it."
"And what exactly did I say, may I ask?" Hermione pushed.
"My name. Just my name. Like a whisper. So I took it, clicked it and this tiny ball of light appeared. I knew. This ball, it floated towards me and flew right into my chest. I knew it would take me where I wanted to go. So I just disapparated and it took me to some hillside." The red-head stated.
"It was dark, I had no idea where I was. I just hoped I'd see one of you…Then this blue light appeared, and I followed it to the lake where I saw Harry." Ron told her as Hermione seemed quite moved by it, though trying to stay angry at him.
"And why, Harry…Were you down by the lake?" Severus asked.
"Because that blue light appeared and led me there and there in the lake was the sword." Harry remarked. "It was really weird, actually…"
"And why did you believe it was a wise idea to follow a random blue light?" Draco inquired.
"Because…It turned into a doe." Harry admitted.
"A-A doe?" Severus stammered. "Harry, you know the only people with that patronus are me and-,"
"My mum…" Harry finished for him. "I knew it wasn't you, Sev, but…The light appeared as a ball, then took the form of a doe and I knew it wanted me to follow it. So I did, down to that lake…And found the sword. Ron saw the same."
"I did, sir. When I appeared on the hill, the light took the form of a doe. I thought it was Harry, at first, considering I found him drowning in the lake…" Ron shrugged.
"You went into the lake?!" Severus scolded.
"Well, the sword wouldn't come any other way…So yes…I stripped down and jumped in." Harry admitted.
"And then the horcrux tried to strangle you! You were lucky I showed up!" Ron remarked. "I saw him jump in, but did not come out…So I jumped in after him. I grabbed the sword, pulled him out…Then we destroyed the horcrux. Harry opened it with Parseltongue and I brought the sword down on it." He explained to the rest.
"If you were both in that lake, then get inside to change and get warm. Right now." Narcissa demanded. "You'll end up sick or worse if you stay in those wet things."
"Yes, Ma'am," Ron and Harry said before getting into the tent to get warm by changing clothes and sitting around the wood stove heater. The rest came inside too as it was early and everyone had only just woken up.
"You really saw a doe?" Severus asked softly.
"It was mum, Sev…I know it was her. Just a week or so ago at the grave, I asked for their help. Guidance. I know it wasn't you who cast the doe, you were here…Sleeping. This was mum." Harry said as they were sitting together, Severus with his arms around Harry to try and keep him warm.
"I believe you." Severus agreed.
"Alright, so we now have the sword and the locket is destroyed…Next would be destroying the ring, right?" Draco asked.
"We'll do it later," Harry said. "But yes. Then we need to turn our focus to the remaining three. Nagini is last, we won't get to her until the final battle when Tom's focus is on me."
Nodding, all in agreement. The rest of today would no doubt be spent with keeping the two boys warm and at some point, Harry would likely sleep as he was up the longest during guard duty.