Forbidden Magic 55

Forbidden Magic 55

Chapter 55 - Sword

A few days later, Ginny helped Harry set up camp near a forest in the opposite place where they originally had been while Hermione and Ron fetched water from a nearby lake. “Are you still mad at my sister?” Ron asked as he scooped up water into a bottle.

“Some what,” Hermione answered him.

“You know she only did that because she cares about you deeply,” Ron told her. He closed up a bottle and looked back to his sister who was chatting with Harry about Quidditch to calm their nerves.

“Ronald,” Hermione sighed, “I know she means well but you know how I feel about senseless killing.”

“It’s not senseless,” Ron groaned at her as he took a seat on the bank. His blue eyes watched the water run down the river and form into a small waterfall.

“Why is that then?” Hermione glared at him.

“Because Ginny has a reason for what she does,” he said, “When she was little some kid was picking on me and she ran head first into him to knock him over. I got mad because my manhood was at sake, but deep down I appreciated her effort in protecting me. Let me ask you this, would you rather she allows someone to kill you?”

“Excuse me?” Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

“Answer me,” he said as his blue eyes still looking down the river. “Well, no, but there are plenty of spells to knock out or even disable someone,” she preached to him. Ron rolled his eyes far into his head.

“So if someone came after my sister you would just stun them?” he looked now right into her brown eyes which were searching for an answer to that.

“I, well, I,” Hermione didn’t know what to say. “Listen, at one point, we are going to kill someone because if you haven’t noticed there is a war that is going to happen whether you want it to or not. So this whole fear you have, you need to get over it. Besides, where’s your passion?”

Ron didn’t wait for an answer from her; he simply got up and walked back to his sister and Harry. Hermione turned her bushy head away from them and peered into her reflection in the river. Where is my passion? She asked herself.

“Why is Hermione sitting over there?” Ginny asked her brother as he approached.

“She’s most likely thinking about something I told her,” Ron answered.

“What did you tell her?” Ginny moved closer to him as Harry crept back into the tent. “Nothing, I just asked her if she was still mad at you and I guess she is, which is stupid. I just told her that you have the guts to kill when she’s hurt and she just has the guts to stun. Really, I don’t know where her passion is.”

Ginny looked at her brother as if she were seeing him for the first time in her life. There was a different air to him that she hadn’t noticed in all the years they knew each other. “I know that she says that now because she’s not presented with someone trying to kill me. Look at mum, if one of us was in danger she would kill for us but she would never say it and you know it.”

Ron shrugged, “I guess, but you should talk to her.”

He disappeared into the tent with Harry. Hermione started to walk back because she realized that she had no protection by the river. “Come on, we need to eat something,” Ginny took Hermione’s arm and pulled her into the tent.

The next few days came and went as the four of them traveled from place to place. Ginny’s 16th birthday was finally upon them. The sun hung high in the afternoon sky as Harry congratulated her for the 2nd time that day.

“So, Hermione, you are going to be 18 soon,” Ron teased her, “aren’t you going to be robbing the cradle with my sister?”

“Shut up Ronald,” she glared at him, “this is supposed to be a happy day and here we are hiding in fear.”

“It’s not that bad,” Ginny said smiling, “I’m with all of you and there’s no where else I want to be.”

Hermione smiled as she grabbed the Beedle the Bard story into her hands, “can I ask you two something?” Her brown eyes scanned over Ron and Ginny who were a little confused by her statement.

“Yes?” Ron cocked an eyebrow at her.

“This book that was given to me by Dumbledore seems to be just, well, fairy tales,” Hermione started, “do you know anything about this?”

She showed them the book and told them about the stories that were in the book and both siblings looked at each other then back at her. “You never heard these stories?” Ron asked.

“No,” Hermione shook her head. Harry looked at them as he sat down on his bed, “I haven’t heard them either. Remember, me and Hermione were raised by muggles. We wouldn’t know anything about wizard stories.”

“Right,” Ginny said as she sat on her bed, “well basically those stories are fairytales that parents usually read to their kids, I’m sure muggles have them too.”

“Yeah, my favorite was the tale about the three brothers,” Ron said, “I don’t think it’s a true story, but you know.”

“The three brothers,” Hermione repeated, “that story struck me as something of some importance.”

“I have heard that the brothers in the story are real,” Ginny disagreed with her brother, “I think they are real.”

“Well, what makes you think that?” he asked her, “It’s just a story.”

“I don’t know,” Ginny answered, “something I think.”

“What’s so important about it Hermione?” Harry asked her.

With a sigh she said, “Because one of the brothers had a cloak that hide him from death and he passed the cloak over to his brother. Harry, who gave you your cloak and do you know if there is another one?”

“Well, I don’t know,” Harry admitted, “I’m guessing Dumbledore gave me the cloak.”

“But I heard that invisibility cloaks lose their power after a while or that they don’t keep you all the way invisible. Harry, yours still works right?” Ron asked.

“Yes,” he answered, “but how long does it take a cloak to lose its power?”

“I’m not sure,” Ron shrugged.

“Are you thinking that his cloak is from the story Ron?” Ginny cocked her head at him, “I thought you said the story wasn’t real.”

“Well,” Ron held up his hands, “who knows. I didn’t say it wasn’t or it was, I’m just saying I don’t know.”

“The story can’t be true,” Hermione said, “Harry’s cloak just hasn’t lost its power and I’m sure it was made by Dumbledore for him.”

“What’s that symbol on the front of the book?” Harry asked as Hermione closed it.

“I don’t know,” she answered, “I’ve been thinking about it but I have no idea where to even look for something like this. Anyway, we’ll look into it later right now we should continue to celebrate Ginny’s birthday and we can move from here tomorrow.”

As the week dragged on, Harry was digging into his chest one day while they apparated to a new place. “Harry?” Ginny placed her hand on his back, “are you ok?”

“Argh,” he clutched at it, “no, it hurts.”

“What hurts?” Ron was now rushing to his side followed by Hermione. Harry fell over onto to dirt floor as they were sitting up the camp for the day. Hermione lifted his shirt to get a look at his chest and noticed that the locket, which Harry was wearing even though Hermione told him she would hold it, was digging into his chest and merging with his skin.

“Oh,” Hermione started clawing at the locket, “Harry! I told you not the wear this evil thing!” Harry’s head cocked up to look at her with empty eyes, “What’s happening to me?”

“The locket is merging into your skin!” Ginny shouted. Ron was turning his head in disgust as the locket was sinking further and further. “Get on your stomach!” Hermione yelled as she pushed him over. With her help he was able to lay down but was in horrible pain.

“I can’t get this damn latch off!” Hermione’s fingers fumbled with the latch that was sinking into Harry’s skin. “ARGH!”

“I’m so sorry Harry,” Hermione bit her lower lip as she dug into his skin. Ginny sat at Harry’s head and held it in her lap. “Take deep breaths Harry,” she spoke to him softly. He started to concentrate on his breathing as dark thoughts rushed his brain.

“Almost have it,” Hermione stated as she finally located the latch. She began to undo it and lifted it off his skin. She rolled him over on his back as his green eyes returned to normal and magically his body and the locket separated.

“Never wear this again, that goes for all of us,” Hermione lectured as she dropped the locket into her bag, “Understood?”

They all nodded at her. “Good,” she said returning to her spell work over the camp site, “get him into the bed and I shall hold on to it until we can destroy it.”

Ron held up his friend along with his sister as they laid him down in his bed. Ron sat by his side as Ginny walked outside to help Hermione. “That was scary,” Ginny said taking out her wand.

“No kidding,” Hermione grunted, “he needs to learn to listen to me. That locket is nothing but pure evil. Anyone good that comes into contact with it is going to be corrupted by it.”

“So Umbridge was able to wear it without a problem because she’s evil?” Ginny asked with a gulp.

“Yes,” she answered the younger girl whose brown eyes went wide. “Anyone who hates muggles, muggle-borns and half-bloods that much must be evil and sick. Besides, she can’t stand anyone that isn’t pure.”

“Pure human and wizard that is,” Ginny grumbled, “I’ll never understand these people who want the world to be merely one thing. Isn’t variety the fruit of life?”

“It is, but many people aren’t raised to see that,” Hermione told her, “Come on, we should head back inside so we can rest up we have to move again tomorrow.”

Harry seemed to be recovered as Ron lay in his own bed. The two were talking animatedly about horcruxes when the girls entered the tent. “How are we going to find all of these things?” Ron asked.

“Ok, how many of these things did You-Know-Who make?” Ginny asked as she took her bed.

“Seven. Voldermort has a strong tie to Hogwarts,” Harry said, “the locket is one and it’s also a founder’s object. What are the other objects? I think one is a cup right?”

“Helga Hufflepuff’s cup, Godric Gryffindor’s sword and Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem,” Hermione answered matter-of-factly.

Harry blinked at her, “ok, but I don’t think he would use the sword since Dumbledore kept that to himself. I did see a memory in which a descendant of Hufflepuff met Tom Riddle.”

“Did she own the cup?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, and the locket for some reason, I think she wanted to collect them all but couldn’t get the diadem or the sword. Anyway, after she showed him them she was murdered and the objects were gone,” Harry told them.

“Curious,” Hermione said. She put her finger to her lips and inhaled, “well, he has a tie to the school for some reason so what better objects to tie his soul to then the founder’s objects.”

“Ok, so that’s two,” Ginny counted off on her fingers. “The diary was one right? Harry destroyed that to save me.”

“Right,” Hermione said, “That would be three and with this locket we have four so that only leaves three more which I’m not sure what they could be.”

“Ok can we do one at a time,” Ron held up his hands, “we have the locket and we don’t know how to destroy it.”

“Yes we do,” Harry said, “Basilisk's fang is what will do the trick because of the venom.”

“And the sword had the venom imbibed into it so I’m sure it can destroy things as well,” Hermione stated.

“How are we going to get the sword?” Ginny asked, “We aren’t in school.”

“We’ll have to figure it out,” Harry said.

The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned months as they traveled from place to place researching, pondering and planning. Hermione never stopped reading the books that Dumbledore gave her while Harry tired over and over again to open the golden snitch.

“Well,” Ginny said as she fell over one day on the last day of autumn, “We have been looking for something to destroy this bloody locket and we just can’t find something.”

“I’m really about to give up,” Ron complained as they camped near a river. Ginny places a finger over her lips as she overhears footsteps coming closer to them.

“This is such bullocks,” Ted Tonks said as his voice came close to their camp.

“Well, they’ll kill us all you know,” Dirk Cresswell’s voice came through the thin tent walls.

“I just don’t understand why they are capturing us,” Dean Thomas sighed.

“You never told us,” Dirk said, “are you muggle-born?”

“I don’t know,” Dean said, “I guess so. My father left me and mum when I was younger. I’ve got no proof he was a wizard though.”

“I see,” Ted said. “Did you escape from Hogwarts?”

“Yes,” he said sadly. “Luna Lovegood and the others are getting themselves into terrible trouble. They stole the sword of Gryffindor from Snape’s office.”

“That sword was supposed to be put into the Lestange vault,” Griphook said. “They made me place that sword in her vault, but to my pleasure it was a fake.”

“What do you mean? I saw them take that sword out of the headmaster office!” Dean protested.

“Does it matter?” Ted grumbled, “I’m sure Dumbledore kept that sword.”

“We need to get out of here,” Gornuk said, “I don’t feel safe.”

The four of them ran from their spot leaving the four teenagers inside the tent with their jaws on the floor. “What the hell?” Ron asked throwing his arms up, “the sword is a fake? Where the bloody hell is the real one?”

“There is only one person who would know that,” Harry said. “Hermione I’m going to have to ask Kreacher to come here.”

“Fine,” Hermione grumbled, “call him.”

“Kreacher,” Harry called out and with a loud crack the small and old house elf stood in front of Harry. “Yes,” Kreacher was wearing the fake locket that was given to him around his neck.

“Can you do me a favor?” Harry asked.

The house elf nodded his head. “Can you and Dobby get a portrait for me from the house? I need to talk to Phineas Nigellus Black’s portrait.”

“As you wish,” he bowed and cracked away. Harry shifted his bed, “I’m sure he’ll have the answers we need.”