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"Are you sure he will be okay though?" Ginny sounded anxious as she looked at Draco.

"Yes, he will be fine. He has taken much worse than that before." Draco said calmly.

This was not a lie. Harry had been injured much worse than this and turned out fine. A few bruises and a torturing curse were not going to stop him.

"But what if he was actually hurt worse than it looked?" Hermione asked, sounding equally concerned.

"He wasn't. I am pretty sure they look worse than they were." Draco said dismissively.

"How can you tell though?" Ron asked, "He is good at masking his feelings, especially pain."

"I can tell." Draco projected an air of confidence, but even he had his doubts.

Ron was right; Harry was good at masking his feelings. It would be difficult to know if he was injured worse than he was letting on. Draco didn't let the others see it, but he was worried about Harry. He had looked quite pale, and Draco knew he had gone through at least one round of the Cruciatus curse.

Judging by the look on Sirius' face when they arrived, Harry had gone through more than he had let on.

"Draco," Ginny said, frustrated. "I know you said he was fine, but I still think we should go and check to make sure."

Draco sighed. "Ginny, give him a few minutes. Even if he is hurting, he will not want any of us around to see it. If he doesn't come down in the next fifteen minutes, then I will check on him."

Ginny looked as if she wanted to argue, but Hermione put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Okay, Draco," Hermione said, and the room lapsed into a tense silence.

Fifteen minutes seemed to pass incredibly slowly, with Ginny and Hermione both sending worried looks at the door and the clock. As soon as fifteen minutes had passed. Ginny looked up at Draco.

"Draco…" She said tentatively.

"Okay, come on!" Draco said, exasperated, "Let's go check on him." The three others sprang to their feet at once and followed Draco up the stairs and to the closed door of Draco and Harry's room. Draco reached out and knocked on their bedroom door.

"Harry?" There was no reply, so Draco knocked again, slightly louder this time.

"Harry, open the door." When still no one had responded, Draco turned the knob and poked his head in. There was a moment of silence as he processed what he was seeing, and then he flung open the door.

"He's not here," Draco said, looking quickly around the room. The other three piled in after him and glanced around.

"Look," Ron said, "There's something on the ground." Draco hastened to pick it up and glance at its contents. As he read, he slowly sank onto Harry's bed and ran his hand through his hair.

"No," he said clearly in shock, "The idiot, he couldn't have! No."

"Draco," Hermione said, "What's wrong?"

Draco didn't seem to hear her, though. He was thinking hard about what he had just read. Ginny moved closer to him, and then, quick as a flash, she snatched the note away from him. She started to read it aloud before he could protest.

"'Dear Draco, Dumbledore gave me a mission that I had to complete. It is to find the rest of the Horcruxes and destroy them. I have to find them; it will be the only way to stop Voldemort. I have to stop him because there was a prophecy made about me and him. That is the reason he went after me and my parents. I can't explain it now, but if you talk to Dumbledore, he will explain it.'"

"We have to talk to Dumbledore!" Ron said.

"Quite," Ginny said sharply, "There's more. 'Be brave, and don't do anything stupid while I am gone. Be careful who you trust with this note. I would only tell two or three others about it if possible. Maybe just Ron, Hermione, and Ginny; they seem trustworthy.'"

"Glad he thinks we are his friends." Hermione said with a slight smile.

"Yeah, but he doesn't trust everyone; listen to this. 'Make up some other excuse as to why I left. I love you like brother, which is why I have to leave now, to keep you safe. I hope we see each other again someday. However, if I die, which is very possible, just know that you are the best friend I could have ever asked for. Love, Harry'"

"Wow," Ron said, mostly to fill up the awkward silence.

"Draco," Hermione asked slowly, "What is a Horcrux?"

Draco sighed heavily, finally glancing up at them. The last thing he wanted to do was to explain this to them, but he could see no way around it. He was still shocked by what he had just read.

"Voldemort, when he was young, used some dark magic to split his soul into parts, six in total. They prevent him from dying, ever. That is unless someone finds them and destroys them. They are now hidden around the world, and Harry has apparently gone to look for them alone because of some prophecy. I am not sure what it said, but clearly, Dumbledore knows. This is basically a suicide mission, and he knows it. He is such an idiot. Why would he go alone?"

"Back up," Ginny said, clearly struggling to process this new information. "So six parts of Voldemort are hidden around the world, keeping him alive indefinitely."

"Yes," Draco confirmed, "Unless they are destroyed, he can't die. But not all six remain intact. One was destroyed by Dumbledore, and one was destroyed by Harry a few nights ago."

"So now only four are left?" Hermione asked.

Draco nodded his head miserably. Then his eyes snapped up to them again.

"You can't tell anyone about this." Draco said urgently, "If Voldemort finds out that he is hunting them, then he is worse than dead. As is…"

"Why would he look for them alone? He knows how dangerous it must be!" Ginny exclaimed, her temper rising.

"I honestly don't know." Draco said, "He knows the risks; he knew that going on this mission alone would be dire. The Horcruxes are surrounded and protected by dark magic. I would have thought he would ask me to join him if no one else."

"Maybe he hasn't left yet?" Ron suggested.

"No, he wouldn't have wasted any time." Draco said.

"Maybe not. What if he is just in the woods?" Ginny asked, "We should go and look."

"We can, but even if he is there still, he won't come out unless he wants to be found, which obviously he doesn't."

They fell into silence, and Hermione finally asked the obvious question. "Why would he leave like this? Why wouldn't he want help? I would have thought he would have at least said goodbye to us rather than just leaving some stupid note."

"I don't know!" Draco exclaimed frustraited. "It doesn't make any sense. He didn't say goodbye; he didn't pack up his clothes or anything. Harry wouldn't have just left like this, not without taking something or talking to someone."

"You don't think—" Ron started to pose the question they had all been dreading.

"No," Draco said firmly. "There is no sign of a struggle, and we would have heard a fight."

"Maybe he was planning on giving you that note later?" Ginny asked.

"It's possible." Draco admitted, "But then, where is he now?" Draco ran a hand through his normally neat hair as he thought.

"Why don't you call him?" Ron asked after a moment.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, but Hermione suddenly exclaimed, "Ron, you're a genius!"

"It's nothing," Ron blushed, but Draco was still confused.

"What are you on about?"

Hermione walked over to him and grabbed his right arm. Draco tried to pull away his arm, but she held on, starting to roll up his sleeves.

"You have that thing, the one that connects you with Harry, right?" She asked as Draco still struggled against her grasp. He froze and looked at her and then at Ron.

"Of course!" Draco said, quickly pulling up his sleeve and touching his index finger to the mark.

"You guys are brilliant. I can't believe I didn't think of it!" He said as he felt the familiar burning sensation, knowing that wherever Harry was, he was feeling it also.

Harry's eyes opened with a start. He jumped to his feet and then looked around, confused. As he scanned the empty bedroom, his memories started to trickle back to him slowly.

The Ministry had been a disaster, to say the least. Then, he had been provided to the Dark Lord's thoughts yet again. He hadn't meant to fall asleep; it had just happened as a result of the already tiring day.

After a moment, he realized what had woken him in the first place. Harry's right elbow was burning with a familiar pain.

Draco needed him.

Harry wasted no more time, turning on the spot and allowing the mark to direct him as to where he needed to go. To his surprise, he reappeared a moment later in his and Draco's bedroom.

It took him only a second to realize that there was no danger… from the Dark Lord anyway. Instead, Harry found himself surrounded by Draco, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, all of whom looked like they wanted to both hug and hit him at the same time.

"Where were you?" Draco asked him sharply.

"One of the bedrooms downstairs." Harry answered easily, "Why? What happened to your hair?"

"Why, he asks!" Draco exclaimed, flattening his hair, which was uncharacteristically sticking up. Draco looked angry, though Harry had no clue as to what he could have done. "Why, if you were just in a bedroom downstairs, would you leave us that note?"

"What note?" Harry asked quickly.

Ginny offered him the note, and Harry paled slightly before looking at Draco and then at the other three.

"You all read this?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Hermione said, "And Draco explained the Horcruxes to us. Why would you want to go find them alone, Harry?" Harry sighed and sat down on his bed, the other's eyes still fixed on him.

"Look, I wrote that last night, but things have changed since then. I was going to go and look for the Horcruxes by myself, but Sirius talked me out of it, saying that I should ask you guys to come with me. I was planning on telling you everything today; I just… needed to clear my mind for a moment."

"Harry, why would you ever consider going after them alone?" Draco scolded him. "You know you can come to me!"

"I know, it's just…" Harry started, "Look, I am inviting you guys to join me, but before you accept, you need to be warned of the danger. The Ministry will be after me now. That is two major groups of people who hate me and want me dead. Between Voldemort and the Ministry, I am probably the most wanted man alive at the moment. Neither party has a problem with killing me, and both think the world would be better off without me here.

"On top of that, we would be hunting for Horcuxes, which are one of the worst kinds of magic out there. They will all be shielded with the full force of the Dark Lord's power, and he has no problems with torturing a killing people. I didn't want to drag you guys into something like that when you were safe here."

"One of these things almost killed you already, and you still didn't think that you might not be able to get rid of the rest of them on your own!?" Draco asked, obviously still upset.

"What do you mean the last one almost killed him?" Hermione asked. "What happened?"

Harry glared at Draco, who had the decency to look sheepish. Harry sighed heavily, but he could not see how he was going to get out of this conversation.

"So, as you all know, the Horcruxes need to be destroyed in order to defeat Voldemort. A few nights ago, Dumbledore found one and had me destroy it." Harry paused and then said, "It kind of did something. I am not quite sure what, but it gave me this."

Harry pushed up his bangs and showed them the scar, which still stood out on his skin from when it burned so many hours ago. "Sometimes it hurts, but I don't know why."

Hermione looked like she was about to say something, but Ron nudged her, and she kept quiet.

"In your note…" Draco said slowly, "You mentioned something about a prophecy. Can you tell us what it said?"

Harry hesitated. He had never been planning on having to tell Draco that he would either kill or be killed by Voldemort. It seemed like something that would be better coming from Dumbledore.

He did not want to worry Draco with another piece of information. However, Harry looked around at all of them and could not see a way out of this.

So, Harry took a deep breath and said, "Sure, take a seat."

Everyone in the room obediently took a seat; however, Harry got to his feet. He didn't want to have to look at Draco when he delivered this news, so instead, he started to pace. He was not sure where he should begin, so he decided just to go for it.

"So," he said, still pacing, "When I was younger, a prophecy was made about me and Voldemort. He found out about part of this prophecy, which is why he came after me and killed my parents." He fell silent, not sure how to continue.

"Harry," Ginny said quietly, "Could- Would you mind telling us what the prophecy said?"

Harry sighed and sat on the floor. Pacing was not helping. He rubbed his temples, trying to recall every single word of the prophecy. It was not very difficult, as the words had been pounding a sort of endless chant in his head.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches." Harry began slowly, "Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark his as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not."

Here, Harry stopped, not wanting to go on, but he knew he must keep going. He could not stop here. "A-And either must die at the hand of the other… for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month ends."

Harry finished, his hands ripping through his hair, making it stand on edge and then flattening it again out of habit. The silence was thick as everyone processed what they had just heard.

"Wow," Ron said after a while. "So that means…"

"That either Voldemort has to finish off me, or I have to finish him off." Harry said calmly. "That is the reason why I have to hunt the Horcruxes. It is the only way to ensure he can be killed when I inevitably meet him again."

"Harry," Hermione said, rather timidly, "Are… you scared?"

"No," Harry said truthfully, his voice incredibly calm. "I knew I would have to be the one to finish him as soon as I left the Manor. I wouldn't want anyone else to, really."

Hermione nodded but didn't say anything else.

"So," Ginny said, her voice surprisingly void of worry. "How are you going to win? What's your plan?"

Harry smiled slightly. "I have to hunt the Horcruxes; that should be a good preparation for facing him. I am going to leave tomorrow. The sooner I start hunting them, the sooner Voldemort is gone."

"It said you have power the Dark Lord doesn't have." Hermione said.

"Yes, I talked about that with Dumbledore. He seems to think it is talking about my ability to love, whatever that means." Harry said dismissively.

"A whole lot of good that'll do you." Ron said.

Harry shrugged. "Dumbledore seems to think it would, but I don't know how."

"Remember, never underestimate the power of love." Hermione said. She seemed to be remembering Harry's recitation of Romeo and Juliet. Harry nodded as they all fell silent.

Draco still hadn't said anything, or moved for that matter. Harry didn't look at him, not wanting to catch his eye by mistake. Harry sighed and looked out of the window, lost in thought.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Ginny asked, snapping him back to reality.

"Wha—" Harry started, and then he looked around at her.

All around him, random items were floating, like he was the sun in some bizarre little universe. He hadn't noticed he was doing it.

They all fell to the floor with a small thump, and the silence resumed. It became defining until he couldn't take it anymore. He jumped to his feet and walked out of the room without saying another word. None of them asked where he was going, and no one stopped him from going.

He exited out of the front door and noticed someone coming across the lawn. It looked like it might be Tonks. Whoever it was, Harry did not feel like talking to them.

So, instead, he ducked into a bush, and they passed by without noticing him. He wanted to talk to someone, but not about his prophecy or about Horcruxes or about Voldemort or about his scar. He wanted to be with people who didn't know him but who would fill up the pounding silence.

When they had entered the house, Harry jumped out of his bush and started to walk. However, he did not go towards the woods. Instead, he went in the opposite direction, away from them and the house.

He started to run, not quite sure why or where he was going, but it felt better to run. He ran up the rolling hills, his legs burning and his side cramping but refusing to slow down.

It almost felt like he could outrun all of his problems if only he ran a little faster. And while he ran, he tried not to think about anything, just the steady rhythm he had fallen into. He wasn't sure where he was going, but after a while, he realized where he wanted to be.

Harry stopped running, out of breath and sweaty, and he disapparated. He appeared in a dark ally, and he walked quickly down it and joined a crowd of people.

He was in the middle of a large village square. He quickly blended into the crowd and ducked his head. Harry walked for a bit before turning into one of the stores, not caring which one it was. He just needed a distraction.

He opened the door and stopped in his tracks. He had just walked into the most amazing bookstore he had ever seen. There were seemingly endless rows of books, all stacked to the ceiling.

Harry moved into the store and started to examine the books. They were all in perfect condition. Each shelf had a small golden plaque telling the consumers what genre each shelf was.

"Can I help you?" A voice right behind him made him jump and reach for his wand. But he stopped himself just in time, remembering that this was a Muggle store. He turned, and standing before him was an old man with square glasses, which made his eyes look slightly too large.

"Uh…no, I was just looking around," Harry said.

"Okay, let me know if you change your mind." The man walked away, and Harry was left on his own again.

Harry started to look through each self until his eyes fell on the book which he had been subconsciously looking for. Harry picked it out of the shelf with a small smile and sat down on the ground, his back against the wall.

He opened to the first page and immersed himself in the familiar tragedies of Romeo's life. It was much better than thinking about the ones in his own. He sat there for hours, completely caught up in this tale, which he had read so many times in the past.

Eventually, like every good thing, the book came to an end.

Harry sighed heavily as he stood and replaced the book where he had found it. As he walked back to the front, he realized it was now dark outside of the window. He reached the door and found that the shopkeeper must have locked him in.

It really didn't matter, though; he could just as easily apparate from here. He turned on the spot and reappeared a moment later on the top of a hill overlooking the Burrow.

He felt a dull ache in his chest, longing for the comfort of the bookstore, but he knew he must go back to the Burrow. The time for avoiding them was over. Plus, they would all be worried by now if they had even noticed he had gone.

Harry made his way down the hill and around to the kitchen door. He opened it and found all of the lights were off. Everyone was asleep already.

Even though he wasn't hungry, he forced himself to grab an apple from the bowl. Tomorrow would be a big day, and he knew he would need energy.

He started to munch it quietly in the semi-darkness. Harry was glad that no one was up still. Then he could avoid the questions of 'Where were you?' and, 'Why were you gone for so long?' He knew Draco was probably still awake, waiting for him, and he thought about just sleeping outside tonight.

It wouldn't be too bad. In fact, he found it preferable to the suffocation that was his room.

Just then, he heard a small noise behind him. He dropped his apple on the counter and whipped around, drawing his wand. He was surprised to see the figures of Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco all standing in the doorway.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Harry said, forgetting to keep his voice down.

"We almost gave you a heart attack!" Ginny exclaimed, not bothering to be quiet. "You've been gone for hours, Harry! We thought something horrible had happened to you!"

"I'm fine." Harry said dismissively, picking up his apple and taking another bite from it.

Everyone filed into the kitchen and sat down around the table. Harry, however, did not join the, choosing to remain standing.

"Harry, we were really worried about you." Hermione said.

"I'm fine." Harry repeated.

"Where were you?" Ron pressed.

"I went to the village to walk around a bit. I needed to think."

"That was so dangerous!" Ginny exclaimed, "What if You Know Who had been there?"

"I would have fought him." Harry said simply. Harry took another bite out of his apple, thinking.

"Listen," he said suddenly, "I've been thinking you don't have to come with me to hunt for Horcruxes. It will be very dangerous, and I don't want any of you to come because you feel like you have to. I would be fine on my own, and it would probably be better if you all stayed safe."

"No!" All of them said in unison, looking at him in alarm. All except Draco, who still seemed to be stuck in his own head, not looking at Harry.

"Are you mental?" Ron asked.

"We are coming with you, Harry." Hermione said.

"I don't want you to come because you feel like you have to." Harry said.

"What would make you think we feel like we have to?" Ginny asked.

"I know you guys are all good people, and those kinds are always the ones who have the most trouble saying no."

"We don't feel like we have to." Ron said, "We want to."

Harry nodded, but he still wasn't convinced. "You guys are worried about the prophecy, aren't you?" Harry asked.

"Not particularly." Ginny said, "I have no doubt in my mind that you can defeat You Know Who."

"Why would you think we are worried?" Hermione asked. "Why would we be if you aren't?"

"Well.. it is very late, and you are all up with me. Plus, Draco has yet to say anything or even look me in the eyes since I told you guys what it said." All eyes turned to Draco, who looked up at the sound of his name.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Draco said carefully. "Harry, could I speak to you alone?"

"Sure," Harry said at once, and Draco rose to his feet.

"Be back in a minute." Draco said to the others as he followed Harry out of the back door. The boys walked away from the house, making sure they were out of earshot.

"What's up?" Harry asked, turning to Draco.

"What's up? Really? You know what's up, Harry."

"Yes, I do." Harry admitted, "I was just trying to start the conversation."

"Harry, I don't think you should hunt Horcruxes." Draco said quietly.

"What! Why?" Harry asked, shocked.

"Because Voldemort will be after you now more than ever. If he finds out you are hunting them, then he will find you and kill you."

"Draco, I have to go find them! I need to be the one to end him."

"Harry, one already hurt you. I don't think it is a good idea for you to go after the others. Also, just because you need to be the one to kill him doesn't mean you have to hunt Horcruxes."

"Yes, it does!" Harry exclaimed, "I need to find them, destroy them, and then fight him. It is the only way to end this once and for all."

"You don't need to be the one to find them. Send someone else, an Order member who can get around without being noticed. They could bring them back to you, and you could get rid of them if you wanted, but you shouldn't be going after them."

"Draco!" Harry said, "Listen to yourself! You are speaking nonsense. I will not be risking any more lives, especially on this. I asked you and the others to come because you are my friends, but I will not be responsible for any more deaths!"

"But you need to stay alive to finish him off. You know what the prophecy said; you are the only one who can kill him." Draco fought.

"No," Harry said flatly. "I am going, I have to, and there you can say to change that. You, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny can come; they already agreed that they would, but no one else will be, and I will be joining you guys. It is too dangerous, and there is still a war going on. Order members need to stay here and fight with Dumbledore. They can't afford to send even one other soldier."

"If you go, then I won't be joining you." Draco said, crossing his arms.

"You don't mean that." Harry said.

"Yes, I do," Draco said, "You can either go without me or stay here and send someone else."

"Draco, I need you. You have always been my right-hand man." Harry said.

"I need you to stay here, Harry. I want you to be safe."

Harry sighed heavily, not looking at Draco.

"You know I can't. I have to go; I have always had to go. It was basically set since my birth that I would kill him or be killed by him. Part of killing him is destroying the Horcruxes. I will not have someone fulfill the prophecy for me. I have to go."

"Then you can go without me." Draco said, and before Harry could protest further, he turned on his heels and walked away into the darkness.

Harry wanted to call after him, make him see reason, but he stayed silent. They both needed to think. Harry turned quickly and walked back to the house.

Why would Draco have even suggested that? Couldn't he see that Harry needed to go?

Harry flung open the door and walked into the kitchen, not bothering to close it behind him.

"What happened, Harry?" Hermione asked, but he made no reply.

He walked out of the kitchen and back to his bedroom. He closed the door rather hard behind him and locked it tight. He walked in a circle around the room, not knowing how to get rid of his anger, but then he sat, his back against the door, deflating slightly.

He couldn't believe Draco would let him go without him. Harry knew he was only doing it because he wanted to keep Harry safe, but couldn't he see that Harry had to go? He had no choice.

Harry felt a dull pang growing in his chest the longer he thought about Draco. The anger was ebbing away and was being replaced by something else. The pang kept growing larger and larger until he had to acknowledge its presence.

There, in the almost pitch black, Harry had to face the realization that Draco was, for the first time ever, abandoning Harry when he needed him most.