"Be careful with that," Malfoy hissed. "That’s been in my mother’s family for generations. It dates back to the Blacks that were present during the time of the Founders."
Harry looked at the vase intently, then raised his eyes to stare into Malfoy’s gray ones. Tipping his hand over, he allowed the vase to fall and shatter on the floor.
"Oops," he said tonelessly.
"You idiot!" Malfoy screeched, kneeling on the ground and trying to scoop up the pieces. "My mother will kill you for that, Potter. How can this house possibly be yours if you’d so easily destroy its treasures?"
"Sirius left it to me. I think it was his final prank on you sorry lot," Harry said, raising his chin defiantly. It felt as if he were giving Sirius the final shot against the family who had turned against him.
"Sirius," Malfoy said, disgust dripping from his words. "He never should have been the heir. He had no pride, no family honor. Regulus was the rightful heir to this house; he knew his proper place."
"Tell it to the Goblins," Harry said, turning his back on Malfoy. "I’m certain they’d love to hear it."
He left Malfoy fuming in the hallway and walked back to his own room to get dressed. Baiting Malfoy might have been childish, but it had felt really good, and Harry’s heart was lighter as he ran down the stairs to the kitchen. He found Ron, Hermione and Ginny all seated at the large table waiting for him.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and rushing towards him before Ron could stop her. "Are you all right? What happened yesterday? What were you thinking running off and leaving us behind? We’d talked about this, Harry. Ron and I were supposed to go with you. We were all going to do this together. You can’t go around changing our plans and singularly making these kinds of decisions. Why did you do that? Why?"
"Hermione!" Ron said, grasping her shoulders and leading her back to the table. "Give him a chance to speak. I’d like to hear this as well,"
Harry could see the telltale red on Ron’s ears and knew that Ron was equally upset with him for leaving them behind.
Harry took a deep breath, trying to control his irritation. "I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was going. I just decided that I needed to see my parents’ graves alone." He looked over at Ginny. "That’s where I went, to my family’s home in Godric’s Hollow."
"Yeah. We’d worked that bit out ourselves," Ron said.
"But why?" Hermione cried plaintively. "It’s too dangerous to do these things on your own, Harry. We’d already planned it,"
"Plans changed," Harry said, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Look, I don’t know if I can make you understand this, but it was just something I had to do alone. I won’t do it again; we’re in this together, but I had to do that part alone."
"What happened while you were there?" Hermione demanded crossly. Harry wasn’t certain which she was angrier about, the fact he’d gone alone or that he’d altered her carefully laid out plans.
"Hermione," Ginny said warningly, speaking for the first time since he’d entered the room. Keeping her eyes fixed on Harry’s face, she said, "I think that might have been rather personal for Harry."
Harry felt bolstered by her defense, and he smiled weakly. "Thanks, Ginny. It was difficult, and I do need to talk to you all about some of it. Maybe we could go up to the drawing room where it’s a bit more private." He’d been watching the door warily, hoping they wouldn’t be interrupted. The kitchen always seemed to be the center of activity at headquarters.
As they followed him up the stairs, Harry’s heart raced. He’d really mucked up this time. He needed to talk to Ron and Hermione alone in order to get his thoughts together before approaching Ginny. But how was he supposed to ask her to leave without hurting her feelings, or worse, getting hexed? Ron took the problem out of his hands.
"Beat it, Ginny," he said, turning in the doorway to block her entrance.
"What?" Ginny asked indignantly, surprise and irritation clearly showing on her face. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at her brother.
Ron crossed his arms across his chest. "We’ve got things to discuss that you don’t need to hear. You can snog him later."
"You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Ron. I want to know what happened at Godric’s Hollow, too. You don’t mind, do you, Harry?" she asked, looking up at him, color rising on her cheeks.
Harry could see the trace of uncertainty in her eyes, and he cursed Ron for his tactlessness. "Back off, Ron. Give me a minute," he said, pushing Ron into the room and turning to face Ginny. Her eyes were glistening slightly, and his stomach clenched.
"Ginny, I do want to tell you about Godric’s Hollow. There are things I want to talk to you about that I can’t discuss with Ron and Hermione, but there is also something that I need to discuss with them that I just can’t share with you. I promised. Please understand," Harry said, his heart dropping when he saw the determined glint in Ginny’s eyes.
"Oh, get over yourselves," she snapped, pushing Harry backwards into the room and irritably casting the Muffliato spell as she stepped through the door.
Ron and Harry stared at her, stunned, although Hermione was grinning slightly.
"Ginny, you used magic," Harry said stupidly.
"Yeah, what of it? You and I are the only underage people in a house full of qualified wizards; they’ll never trace it back to me. Besides, this house is Unplottable anyway," Ginny said, brushing her hair out of her eyes with exasperation.
"What do you think you’re doing?" Ron bellowed. "I’m telling Mum."
"Yeah, why don’t you run along and do that, Ron? Meanwhile Harry can tell us what happened in Godric’s Hollow, and what he plans to do about the Horcruxes," Ginny replied calmly, sitting on the couch and crossing her legs. She looked up at Harry expectantly.
Both Ron and Harry stared at her, mouths agape. Hermione, Harry noticed, shrank deeper into the corner of the couch where she was sitting.
"What did you just say?" Ron asked, his voice coming out in a strained squeak
Ginny ignored him and turned to Harry. "Well?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. It was only down to how well he’d come to know her that he saw the nervous tremble in her hand as she twisted her hair. Ginny always twisted her hair when she was anxious.
He glanced between Ginny and Hermione. Hermione wouldn’t meet his eyes.
"You told her," he snarled, glaring at Hermione. "Dumbledore asked us to keep this to ourselves. I gave my word."
Ginny leaped from the couch and stood in front of Hermione, glaring right back at Harry. "Don’t be stupid — of course you wouldn’t tell me — you were the one that promised, not Hermione. You couldn’t say anything because it would go against that blasted nobility of yours. No matter how infuriating it can be, we don’t want to mess with the kind of person you are. It’s important for you to keep that integrity, I think.
"Of the three of you, Hermione is the logical one who would seek help. She wants facts and data and will use any means necessary to get to the answers she needs. Of course she told me, she knows I can help. She’s also a good friend and knew I was going mad. I knew enough to be terrified for you, but not what was real and I think my imagination was making everything worse."
"Hermione?" Ron asked, shocked. Harry would have found the expression on his face comical if he hadn’t been so angry.
"I’m sorry!" Hermione shrieked. "I wasn’t getting anywhere with our research, and I needed someone who could sneak me some books from the library here at Grimmauld Place. Ginny would come to the meetings with your parents and wait for them in the library so she could sneak some books out to me. I know you promised, Harry, but I honestly think Professor Dumbledore would have allowed you to include Ginny if he knew the stakes. You need her."
Harry swore violently and turned his head away. He wasn’t even certain why he felt so angry. This was the solution he’d been seeking, a way to share things with Ginny without having to betray his word, but damn it, he’d wanted to keep Ginny out of this, and she’d been at the heart of it all along. It was galling.
"How could you do that, Hermione?" Ron shouted, his temper finally exploding. "She’s not getting involved. It’s too dangerous."
"Honestly, Ron. I realize you’re very protective of your sister, but-"
"My baby sister, Hermione. She’s too young to get involved in this," Ron said.
"Would you have followed Harry if all this had happened last year?" Hermione asked. "Of course you would. She’s the same age as you were then. The difference in her age and Harry’s is nearly the same as Harry’s and mine. Do you think he’s too young to be involved?"
"What? Of course not; it’s not the same thing," Ron shouted, flailing his arms in the air. "It’s his fight. Ginny’s not getting involved because it’s too dangerous for her."
Ginny whipped her head around so fast that Ron took a step backwards from her fury. "Don’t you dare say you want to keep me out of this or it has nothing to do with me, Ron Weasley. It has much more to do with me than it does with you. These Horcruxes are bits of sodding Voldemort’s own soul. I had one of those bits in me, and I’m going to make damn sure that never happens to anyone else! And as for being too young; I’m older than you were when we went to the Ministry. As I recall, I came out of that fight a damn sight better than you did."
She turned to Harry, determination gleaming in her eyes. "This, this is my fight, and you’re not going to keep me from it. I have as big a stake in this part of it as you do."
Harry thought she’d never looked more beautiful with her hair flowing down her back in waves, looking almost as if it were standing on end like an angry cat. Her gaze was passionate and fierce, and it occurred to Harry that he’d never thought of it this way, from her point of view. Of course she had a personal stake in this. She’d been possessed by one of these very Horcruxes. If anyone would know how it felt to have a bit of Voldemort’s soul stuck inside him, it was Ginny.
What was done was done. They couldn’t go back, and she was right. For her, like him, this was personal.
"All right, quiet," he bellowed over the arguments of the other three who were all bickering and snapping at one another. The tense atmosphere in the room had dissolved into complete chaos. "This is getting us nowhere. Ginny knows what we’re up against, but from this point forward, we keep this information amongst ourselves. Are we clear?" he asked, staring hard at Hermione.
They all nodded and looked at him expectantly. He noticed that Ron still looked disgruntled, while Ginny appeared triumphant, and Hermione
merely looked satisfied, as if her plan had come together in the end. Harry had to bite back a smile. They really were the best friends he could have ever wanted.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "So, we need to go after the Horcruxes before I can face Voldemort. The problem is, I really have no idea where to begin. Professor Dumbledore showed me all those memories from Riddle’s past, and he thought the clues were hidden in them."
"Why do you have to be the one to face Voldemort?" Ginny asked, her eyes wide. It was as if now that she’d finally been accepted into their confidence, the reality was frightening her.
Harry glanced sharply at Hermione
"I told her about the Horcruxes because I needed some help with the research materials, and I thought you could use some moral support. I didn’t tell her about the prophecy. I thought you should do that," Hermione said, giving Harry a weak smile.
"The Chosen One," Ginny whispered, a distinct catch in her voice. "It’s true then?"
Harry nodded and watched as her lower lip trembled slightly. His gut twisting, he waited while she steeled her resolve. "Are you okay?
Ginny gave him a watery smile. "Shouldn’t I be asking that of you?"
He took her hand in his and rubbed it reassuringly. "I’ve had awhile to take it all in. Believe me, I didn’t handle it well at all when I first heard."
"I’m scared for you, but I know you can do this. You’re a powerful wizard, Harry. You can beat him, and you will survive," Ginny said solemnly.
Harry swallowed painfully. This is it. "That’s what we need to talk about. I wasn’t alone in Godric’s Hollow yesterday. Someone followed me."
Ron’s head whipped up, and Hermione gasped, "Who?"
"Wormtail," Harry replied grimly, the name leaving a sour taste in his mouth.
"Wormtail? What did the little rat want?" Ron snarled. "I’m surprised you let him live."
"Ron," Hermione hissed reproachfully.
Harry ignored her. "He’s jealous of Snape. He thinks Snape has stolen his thunder or something. He wanted me to eliminate Snape for him."
"You’ve got to be kidding me!" Ron said, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
"I’m dead serious," Harry said, barely moving. His jaw was beginning to ache from clenching it so hard. "He said he knows a lot more about what’s going on in Voldemort’s inner circle than even Voldemort is aware."
"I find that hard to believe," Hermione said, frowning. "Doesn’t Voldemort use Legilimency on his Death Eaters?"
"Yeah, but no one ever considers Scabbers to be a real threat, do they?" Ron asked.
Harry took a deep breath. "He knows about the Horcruxes," he said quietly.
"Bloody hell," Ron swore.
"What?" Hermione shrieked simultaneously. "Did he say that? Did he actually say Horcrux?"
Ginny crossed her arms across her chest and pursed her lips. "The circle of people who know this secret is getting bigger and bigger. Perhaps that will be what leads to his downfall."
Harry’s hands began to shake, and he clenched them to hide it from the others. "He…he told me about the Seventh Horcrux. The one he doesn’t think I’ll be able to destroy."
"The Seventh Horcrux. Well, that’s him, isn’t it?" Ron asked, perplexed.
"Technically, the bit that’s still in him is the last that has to be destroyed, but it’s the bit that all the others were created from, so it’s actually the first. The seventh is the last one he created," Harry replied, his voice sounding strained even to his own ears.
"So, that’s Nagini, right?" Hermione asked, studying him carefully.
"No," Harry said, his throat dry. "Dumbledore was wrong….or merely misleading. Nagini was never a Horcrux. All his Horcruxes were created before he lost his powers."
"How is that possible though?" Hermione demanded. "I thought you said he was planning on making the Seventh Horcrux with your murder."
"He was," Harry said, nodding stoically.
"Well then how…Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, clamping a hand over her mouth.
"What?" Ron asked, lost.
"Oh no, Harry. This can’t be true," Hermione cried, tears springing to eyes.
"What are you on about?" Ron demanded, frustrated.
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