33 Going Back

"Harry!" the young man mentioned turned, hearing two people screaming his name- a muffled but audible one from below and one from behind him.

As soon as he turned around, he saw a familiar viper mid-air in front of him. It was apparent it had jumped at him, poised to kill.

Thinking quickly, Harry dodged the snake, rolling towards his now visible best friend who had his wand on the viper.

"It's Nagini," Harry commented, feeling a sharp stab of pain in his scar. He reached up to rub it, silently identifying Voldemort's familiar as a Horcrux.

As usual, Hermione read his mind. "Nagini's a Horcrux."

Ron glanced at her in confusion. "How do you know?"

Hermione didn't bother to roll her eyes, instead, saying, "Harry's rubbing his scar which means he's hurting. And when he's hurting, that means it's a Horcrux or he's nearby." She was cut off by the snake hissing and she had to throw a hex towards it to stop it from advancing on them.

Harry grit his teeth, groaning. "It's both. He's coming, I can feel his excitement and anxiety."

Hermione and Ron looked panicked but Harry had no time for that.

"We need to kill it. Now," Harry said in a shaky albeit stern voice. He sent a cutting hex towards the viper but it dodged and hissed again. Harry could hear what she was saying but he didn't bother translating it for them.

Hermione, who had been digging for the Sword of Gryffindor inside her bean bag ever since Harry said they needed to kill the snake, managed to retrieve the sword and held it out to Harry.

"Ron, we need to trap it," she stated.

Ron nodded then he and Hermione both fired hex after hex towards the snake with Harry helping them, hoping to back it against the wall but it dodged everything they threw at it and even when it was hit, it seemed unfazed.

"Incendio!" Hermione chanted, flames shooting from her wand towards the snake but it still had no effect.

Hermione cursed under her breath. "Darn. I knew it. It's resistant to magic, one of it's probably many protections as a Horcrux. We need to at least graze it with the sword. That or using Fiendfyre or the Killing Curse. I don't know how to cast Fiendfyre and, even if I did, it is difficult to control. Plus, I never want to have to use the Killing Curse if I could help it," she explained.

Harry cursed internally as she said that. "Alright. Just continue what you're doing. Leave the rest to me."

As he said that, he felt his scar flare up in pain. He cried out and dropped the sword to clutch at his scar. He vaguely heard Hermione and Ron's confused and worried voices as he saw a vision of the three of them from the window, as if he was seeing through another's eyes. He groaned both in pain and in irritation.

Looking up at his best friends, he said through the pain, "He's here."

Thinking quickly, Hermione grabbed Ron and Harry by the shoulders as Ron bent down to pick up the Sword of Gryffindor. Harry made to argue but Hermione said, "We'll get him next time, don't worry. We need to leave before-"

She was cut off by the windows breaking and the unmistakable Killing Curse flying over their heads. Not waiting for him to appear, Hermione Disapparated along with the boys.

They did not hear the scream of rage as they disappeared from Godric's Hollow.

...

Harry felt like his navel was being pulled which was the telltale sign of Apparation. Immediately, the pain in his scar dissipated which made him sigh in relief. The relief was short-lived, however, as he felt shame and anger for himself. Why did his damn scar have to hurt every time he's near a Horcrux or the Dark Ass himself? He feels weak and useless.

They landed in the kitchen next to a screaming Fleur Delacour-Weasley who was getting something from the refrigerator.

"Merde!" she cursed in her native language.

"Sorry, Fleur, I didn't think anyone would be up at this hour, " Hermione said, bringing Harry to sit down on the couch and sat as well.

Fleur sighed then waved off her apology, stating that it was fine and asked them if they were alright. Not a minute later, everyone in the cottage gathered in the living room just in time for Ron to explain what happened. He left the part where they were hunting for Horcruxes, though, and said Harry only wanted to visit his parents.

While Ron told his family and Luna of the recent events and their near death experience in Godric's Hollow, Harry felt Hermione's presence beside him. "You alright?"

Without a word, he nodded. He was still feeling angry with himself for being weak. Of course, Hermione noticed the sudden change of his demeanor though he did his best to conceal it.

She wrapped her arms around him and whispered in his ear, "It's alright. We don't blame you, we understand."

Harry shook his head. "No, it's not. It's infuriating!" he said, pointing to his scar. "I swear, it's cursed or something."

By this time, Ron had finished retelling the series of unfortunate events that had befallen them. He sent his family and Luna upstairs, stating that everything was alright and they needn't worry. He then joined the Harry and Hermione on the couch just in time to hear Harry's last words.

Ron looked at him, confused. "Why does it even do that anyway? Hurt, I mean. It must have some kind of connection to the Lard Dork."

Harry and Hermione snorted at his nickname for the worst dark lord in wizarding history. Nevertheless, they took his words to heart.

"We have time to find out about that later but we have one more Horcrux to find," Harry said, looking at Hermione.

The aforementioned witch nodded. "Ravenclaw's Diadem."

Ron scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Where do you suppose it is?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's stupi- I mean, inability to think. It's true he has a brain but Hermione couldn't, for the life of her, imagine how he doesn't use his cognitive skills... if he had any. "Haven't you noticed by now? Every one of his Horcruxes are hidden in places that have meaning to him. We found the cup at Gringotts because he knew it was the safest place on Earth after Hogwarts, his diary was with one of his trusted inner circle members, the ring was found in his ancestral home, the locket was in a cave where he hurt two children when he was still in the orphanage, and Nagini was the safest as she remains at his side. The next location is so obvious, we've been neglecting the fact that we need to go there."

Ron, who finally acquired the metaphorical light bulb after Hermione's rant, said, "It's Hogwarts, isn't it?"

...

Four pops were heard as four figures appeared in the middle of Hogsmeade. As soon as they appeared, curses, hexes, and spells were sent towards them.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Luna ran for cover in an alley while countering the Death Eaters who were intent on capturing them.

Though it was initially decided that the Golden Trio would be the ones to infiltrate Hogwarts, Luna insisted on coming along, claiming that she missed her friends and wanted to see them. The adults and Ron reluctantly agreed as they couldn't say no to the distraught girl.

The plan was rather simple and well thought out by Hermione and Bill Weasley. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Luna enter Hogwarts via Hogsmeade undetected with the help of Harry's map, find and destroy Ravenclaw's Diadem, and fight to drive away Snivellous Snape and the Death Eaters out of Hogwarts. The adults, however, try to gather as much of the Order and the remaining trustworthy Aurors as possible and aid in keeping the students safe in the castle when Voldemort comes for Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, arriving at Hogsmeade, though it was planned to arrive stealthily, was not what they expected.

Ron cursed, gripping his wand tightly. "Portkeying in the middle of Hogsmeade? Really, Hermione!"

Hermione sent him a withering glare. "I'd like to see you try! It took a lot out of me, you know!"

"We both know you could do it flawlessly if only you were focusing on doing the spell and not checking out Harry's arse!"

Harry silenced them, saying, "Shush, both of you! One day, your bickering will be the death of us, I tell you! Now we need to find someplace safe or else we're finished!"

Just then, Harry heard his name being called. He turned his head towards the direction of the voice and saw Dobby beckoning them towards him behind a corner.

"Come to Dobby, Master Harry Potter, sir! Dobby knows a safe place," the little elf said in a low voice.

Harry pushed his friends towards Dobby who led them towards a dilapidated building. Granted, Hogsmeade was much more worse but they trusted their elf friend not to betray them and followed after him. When they entered, they found themselves in an unkempt and deserted bar with dusty, rickety floorboards, chairs and tables laying around or destroyed, cobwebs surrounding the dark, unsavory interior, and a pungent smell lingering in the air. It looked and smelled like it hadn't been cleaned in months.

"Dobby, where are we?" Hermione asked.

"We're in Hog's Head, Master Harry Potter sir's Grangey. Mr. Abe sir has been waiting to meets you," the elf replied, smiling.

Harry looked at Dobby, confused. "Who's Abe?"

"I am."