Dripping wet and fully clothed, they stood there, sword gripped tightly in the man's hand while the woman held a small sword looking thing and the Horcrux tightly in the other.
The woman quickly hid her dagger away as Harry shakily got to his feet and stared at the duo in front of him. More specifically the man holding the sword who dropped it in favour for helping the teenager stand more steady. But Harry wasn't having any of it as he pushed the arms and the man away, almost shoving him back into the water.
"What the fucking hell are you doing back here, Ron?" Harry forced out, Anna going forward quickly and trying to get in between the two, "You left us. Both of us! Hermione was distraught when you left."
"Harry…" Ron tried to answer but Harry shook his head and almost knocked the woman over as he made to throw a punch at his friend. Anna caught the punch as she stood in front of him, her eyes giving off a slight glow before she pulled the shivering teen to the pile of clothes he'd taken off and sat him down.
"Listen to him, Harry. That's the least you can do"
"And where the hell did you go?" Harry shot at her, causing her eyebrows to shoot up into her hairline and a look of pure hatred to flash in her eyes. This caused Ron to properly look at the woman standing there. Anger seemed to be rising in Harry now as he tried to still his shaking hands and dress. Warmth spread through and dried him when a warming spell passed over them all from Ron's wand. The sword still glinted in the light in the clearing they were all in and the Horcrux seemed to have a rapid 'heartbeat' in the woman's hands.
"I went home." Anna told them after five minutes. Her eyes shone with grief that quickly disappeared when Harry and Ron looked at her before she nodded to Ron and added, "You're lucky we arrived when we did. Another minute and you'd probably have drowned as well as been strangled."
"I guess I should say thank you. For saving me. But I still want answers."
"You're still a bloody fool for going into the water with the locket on, Harry." Ron replied, before looking at Anna again who had turned to glaring at the locket with a murderous look in her eyes before she passed it to him, silently. Taking it as Harry stood and folded the blanket up, he whispered, "Who is she, Harry? She's not part of the Order, is she?"
"Her name's Anna Milton. She's not part of the Order, nor is she a Death Eater, Ron." Harry told his friend, "And you still need to tell me why you're back."
"And I will. Just later." Ron said, before he went to grab the sword and returned to the duo, "But first, I think we need to get rid of this."
Harry and Anna looked at the locket as it hung out of his clenched hand, dangling on the shortened chain almost looking innocent. Anna folded her arms as Harry nodded, went over, took the chain and left to look for somewhere to lay it down, explaining, "I'm gonna have to open it and then you have to stab it, Ron."
"Harry… I can't." Ron stammered, shaking his head as he looked scared. The sword fell out of his hand with a clatter on the frozen ground as he stood there, causing Harry to look back. Looking almost to tears, he kept shaking his head as he added, "That… that thing, It's not good for me. Never was. I kept having these terrible thoughts when it was my turn to wear it and when I wasn't, those thought came when I was near it. It's not good for me."
Ron stayed there, frozen to the spot as he looked at the locket with fear and hatred in his eyes as Harry looked worried and Anna sighed and went to kneel by Ron. The Weasley looked at her with an almost hopeless look as she laid a hand on his shoulder and said, "You can ignore those thoughts, kid. First thing you have to do is to tune out any thoughts that come when that locket is opened…"
"And then stab it. That's all you have to do." Harry finished for her, Anna nodding as she stood and held her hand out for Ron to take. "I think it's meant to be you who kills this one, Ron. You can do this."
Ron looked between them both, at Harry's worried but sympathetic look and Anna's gentle face before he heaved a heavy sigh, nodded and took Anna's hand to be pulled up. Her grip felt like steel as she pulled him up onto his feet.
"Alright." He sighed when Anna took her hand away, both of them looking to the Boy Who Lived. They all walked towards the locket as it lay on a flat-topped rock, looking innocent to the untrained eye.
"Harry, how you gonna open it?"
"I'm gonna ask it to open, Ron." Harry told him, "Using Parseltongue."
Anna got a curious look on her face as Harry looked at her and said, "I'll explain later, Anna. Only if you'll explain those markings around the tent."
"Dean and Bobby taught them to me. You can ask either of them when and if we go back to South Dakota." Anna said, her eyes flicking to Ron as he looked at her suspiciously, "You'd better open that locket, Harry."
Harry nodded and looked at the necklace and opened his mouth. But nothing came out. No sound or even a hiss came out of his mouth and the locket stayed shut as they looked. Shaking his head, he sighed and tried to look at it a lot closer, trying to visualise that the snake was a live serpent. The more he looked, the more the emerald seemed to glint as if it were alive and Harry opened his mouth.
"Open." Harry said, but it wasn't words that came out of his mouth. Instead it was a hissing and a snarl that came from him. Two things happened at once. One of them was that Anna was immediately on edge and bringing out her dagger while the locket unclasped and burst open with what looked like smoke billowing out around them and a silky, whispering voice spoke.
"I have seen your heart, Ronald Weasley." It said, "And it is mine."
Ron froze as Harry shouted for him to stab the locket and the voice continued, "I have seen your dreams and I have seen your fears. All you desire is possible…"
"RON! KILL THE HORCRUX!" Harry tried to get through to the redhaired male as Anna tried to get to him. It felt like a wind was blowing her away as he stood there, sword in hand but the point on the floor, unmoving.
"…but all that you dread is also possible… Least loved, always, by the mother who craved a daughter… Least loved now, by the girl who prefers your friend… Second best, eternally overshadowed. Always." By this point, Ron was sinking to his knees, just staring at the smoke as it transformed into grotesque, twisted versions of Harry and Hermione who grinned maliciously at him as they told him how they'd prefered it when he'd been gone, how they had welcomed the woman beside the real Harry as the sword clattered hopelessly at Ron's feet before she got between the boy and the images, causing them to stop as she picked up the sword, raised both blades and stepped forward.
Harry threw himself out of the way as a dangerous looking Anna came toward him before screaming and the sound of metal hitting metal erupted in the clearing, causing the smoke to dissipate and reveal Anna standing there, sword pointing down in the stone and the other blade nowhere in sight and her eyes giving off a glow that covered her entire iris before it faded and she said, "I think you got some explaining to do, Harry Potter."
Okay, What's this?!
Two updates at once? That's unusual for me. I usually take around two or three weeks or just forget about it altogether.
Anwya, please leave a like and comment and hopefully I'll see you all soon
Hermione Jean Burton