A/N: Yes I do have more chapters ready. Some lines are written verbatim from the books, the fight between Harry and Ron is written very close to verbatim, it was hard for me to write that and create an entirely new scene. All rights are owned by J.K. Rowling. I only own my idea. Harry's past/ heritage will be written in a different fan fiction. I have many ideas and it would be way too long to put into this fan fiction without slowing the whole story down.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 3- Just in Time

May 17, 1998; 4:25:28

"Harry", exclaimed Hermione. They were prepping the Hippogriffs for the flight. Packing the equipment and resources that the goblins provided them. They met with the goblins over winter hols. Something about Sirius' will needing to be executed. They had Dobby take them to the bank and what they found surprised Harry, but not Hermione. Once they wrapped up their business at the bank, the goblins provided supplies for the identification and destruction of a horcrux, located in the Bellatrix vault. "Yes, Hermione", Harry said with urgency. "Harry, you really want to go through with this? We can go back to the goblins, see if they can take it out of you", Hermione said, her voice quivering with pain.

She didn't, wouldn't lose Harry. The night after the troll, she decided there and then that she would stick with Harry through whatever a twisted version of fate threw at him. And she made good on that declaration. She stuck by him during the fiasco that was the Philosopher's Stone, making sure that he was as ready as he could be before walking into the mirror chamber. She helped him through the heckling that he endured during his second year when he was labeled the Heir of Slytherin. She risked her life when Harry dove into the Womping Willow tunnel to get the truth, Sirius Black was innocent. She helped him nail down the summoning charm before the first task. His most trying time, The TriWizard Tournament. Only Hermione stood by him. Ron came back, but with a half-hearted apology and Harry took it. he wouldn't take it again. Harry believed in second chances, but only second. Once it was gone, it was gone for good. She helped his start and teach the DA. She went with him to the Ministry. She took a curse when he was with Sirius in his last moments. She saw his possession by Voldemort. She freaking wiped her parents memory of her to help him on his quest! She was not going to lose him.

"Harry", she whispered, trembling, "I'm scared". "Hermione", his voice soothing her nerves. "I'm scared too. Hell, I'm absolutely terrified. I don't want to die. I want to live, to grow old and see my grandchildren run around and play. I don't have that luxury, I've been destined to die and I'm going out on my own terms. I want Tom to realize that the world will fight till he is dead, and that must start with my death", Harry told her. "Harry", she began but was cut off. " Hermione, I will be ok", he told her. She knew he would. They had gone over the plan countless times; and yet she was still terrified that something would go wrong. She was brought out of her thoughts by Harry saying softly, "I promise". "Ok. Ok, I trust you", she replied.

Harry finished packing the supplies that they were given, thinking over the last year and his choices that brought him to this point. Leaving the Dursley's and the battle of the seven Potter's. Then the wedding between Bill and Fleur and the subsequent Death Eater attack. The escape and the journey to Grimmauld place to search for the locket. Then the ministry heist. 'That was too close', Harry recalled how his poly-juice potion had worn off and he walked through the ministry atrium in the open. He was lucky to be alive after that. Then the stay at the Forest of Dean. That is when things really began to pick up speed. They had a horcrux and no way of destroying it, and Ron had left after a nasty argument between them.

Flashback

Ron was fed up with the lack of progress with the hunt. He thought that they would have destroyed the locket by now, but it was still lying there on the table, taunting him, feeding him lies.

And he made his choice.

"Harry, any progress", Ron asked with more than a little irritation.

"No Ron, I already told you, Dumbledore gave me almost nothing to go on. He only told me what they are. That's it", Harry repeated.

Hermione sat outside. She heard the sting in their voices and decide that might be time to intervene.

She walked into the tent to a full blown spew between Harry and Ron.

"I told you! We have already found a horcrux already", Harry exclaimed.

"Yea, and we are no closer to getting rid of it then when we found the bloody thing", Ron jabbed back.

"Do you want to know the reason the radio's on every night. To make sure that I don't hear Ginny's name, or Fred or George or Mum", Ron emphasized his distress at the current situation.

" Do you think I'm not listening to, do you think I don't know how this feels!", Harry shot back.

"No you don't know how this feels! Your parents are dead! You have no family!", Ron shouted.

And that broke Harry. He did have a family, yet Ron always knew them. Ron had everything Harry always wanted. A loving mother, a proud father, a supportive older brother and an appreciative younger sister. And Harry lunged at Ron, he shook him, grabbed him and wrestled with him. All his anger and pain spilled out and they let go.

"Fine then; GO! Go then!", Harry finished. He was done with Ron. He liked him, but he could be such an arrogant asshole at times. And he knew that the horcrux on the table was making a difference in how he was acting, but he didn't care. He was done.

Ron grabbed a backpack and looked back at Harry, a look not so dissimilar to a look that crossed Malfoy's face on him. And he left.

He saw Hermione run out of the tent and after him. If Hermione left, he might as well turn himself in to Voldemort. He would be as good as dead the second she left. Yet he only heard the sound of one apperation. He blew out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Hermione didn't leave him. He just might have a change of killing Tom.

End Flashback

And that was when things really began to pick up speed. He was successful in retrieving the Sword of Gryffindor from the bottom of the lake. And he destroyed it. He walked back into the ten with a small, goofy looking grin on his face. Hermione looked up at him to see a blackened locked and him holding the Sword. She raced to hug him and he explained how he got the sword and destroyed the locked. She swatted his arm when he mentioned that he jumped into a frozen lake with no one around. They decided to stay for another week before leaving for another place. harry had a stroke of genius when he decided to call Dobby and see if he could help. He said he could and he apperated them to Gringotts. There while in Gringotts, he found out about his past and coincidentally found that Bella's vault had a horcrux inside it. When they brought the cup to the director's office, Harry noticed a slight throbbing pain in his head. And that only confirmed his theory. He was a horcrux. And then he had another stroke of brilliance when he remembered Dumbledore talking about his mother's protection and how it works. He reasoned that since his mother's sacrifice allowed him to be immune to any of Voldemort's attacks, he would never be harmed by Voldemort, even if he threw the Killing Curse at him. And since he had a piece of Voldemort's soul inside of him, Voldemort would hit his soul piece inside Harry, giving the impression that he had killed Harry. Harry knew this and he told Hermione.

"Hermione", Harry started. "I think it's true. What we always thought to be true; is true", he finished, now facing Hermione. 'No. No. No!', she started to panic. Her best friend was a horcrux. She felt tears start to well up in her eyes. "Harry, you can't go. We'll find some other way to save you. We can go overseas and find help in France. I won't let you. We could see if the goblins", she was cut off by Harry placing a finger over her lips. 'He looks calm. Too calm', she thought as he told the goblin to leave it in. "WHAT!" "Hermione, it will be ok. Once I'm dead, it will take everything to kill him", as he said this, he dropped his fingers. 'Damnit Harry', "must you always go and save people", she questioned. "You'll be saving me once I've been hit", he responded. "Do you at least have an idea of what you're going to do, and why the fuck would you leave it in you", she asked, now using her mind. "Yes Hermione, I do have a plan", he said. "And?" He groaned and slunk back in his chair. He did not want to tell her his plan, but he knew that tone of voice. And he would not dare disobey Hermione when she cursed. "I'm going to let Voldemort hit me with the Killing Curse. It won't kill me because of my mother's protection", he began. "And since any of Voldemort's attacks cannot hit me, if he hits me with the Killing Curse, it will hit the horcrux in his head, not my soul", he finished. Hermione was furious; and proud. Harry thought with his brain sometimes, and when he did, great outcomes happened. And sometimes, stupid ideas are the result. This was a combo of both. 'Walking like a sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered, he would have his mother protection and would survive the Killing Curse yet again. And by that survival, he would be seen as to be immortal. Throwing Voldemort off his game. Finally, a well thought out plan', she thought. It seems like this was the only time that he had thought a plan out.

"Harry, you know what I'm going to say, this is a stupidly dangerous plan, and it might just work", she said, the tears neither falling nor receding when she heard his explanation. They walked back into the office where the goblin was waiting. "Mister?" "Sharpclaw", the goblin responded. "Mister Sharpclaw, we have a way of disposing of Riddle, yet we are in dire need of supplies. Is there anyone you would point us to that would help us", Harry asked. "The goblins might be able to help you with that. What do you require?" And so Harry, Hermione and Sharpclaw sat and discussed what they would need for the upcoming battle. They were able to purchase a newer tent, rations for 6 months, an internally-expanded stasis chamber for said rations, many offensive and defensive spell books, and some low power protective jewelry. They then thanked the goblin at the store counter and left for the apperation point within Gringotts.

They apperated to Manchester and camped out at public ground. Once the tent was set up, she had him write down the prophecy so she could analyze it and find if there was any danger. She had him recount any times he dealt with Riddle. She would comb through his plan and find any faults and fix them. Yet she could not find any. He had somehow made a foolproof plan in 15 seconds. Weird. They then spent the next 5 months deep in the forests of Manchester, practicing spells and building up their strength, for the inevitable conflict that was to come. Two months in to their extended stay in the forest, they found a magical section of the forest. While traversing the forest, they came across two Hippogryffs. Two majestic beasts, one with a pearl white coat of feathers, glowing in the sunlight, and one coated with feathers as black as night, looking like it would absorb all light it touches. Harry was able to get close to the black one, and the white one accepted Hermione. They continually met with the Hippogriffs and they became their surrogate owners. Harry decided to name his Onyx. Hermione named hers Sarah. When he asked why, she just said that she thought the Hippogriff looked like a Sarah.

"Harry." Harry was shook out of his reverie by Hermione. "We need to mount up", she said with a little smile. "Yea, we need to", he quipped back, a small smile helped alleviate the tension that hung like curtain drapes in the air.

May 17, 1998; 4:30:04

Harry and Hermione took flight, flying the three hour trip up to the Scottish highlands. No words were needed to be spoken between the two of them. They had reached such a connection that they no longer needed to speak to communicate.

It was going to be a long day.

May 17 1998; 7:12:48

Harry saw the castle in the distance. Destroyed. He let out an animalistic growl and his magic flared.

He would kill Tom when he landed. No quarter.

He saw the courtyard and the destruction. And he yelled. He yelled with all his anger.

"TOM!"