Talking Hats And Lost Horcruxes

Neville

The house elves had taken care or the real Carrow's siblings, assuring them that they will not interfere any longer. He was too nervous to ask what they did to them, but unlike him Ginny, was having a great time. She had make some kind of meditation before drinking the potion and after taking the appearance of Alecto Carrow, just like Draco had told him, she was completely in character. Even he was a little scared of her evil grin when practicing it in the bath mirror. He wished he could be that confident in his new role, but he was almost panicking by now. One thing was facing a bunch of Slytherin students and another to face Voldemort himself.

"Don't worry Neville, we can do this. Just follow my lead, there is no reason to fear. Harry and the others depend on us doing our parts well, so let's not fail them." Ginny said slightly hugging him.

"You are right. Don't worry Ginny, I will do my part, just as planned." He said, already feeling more confident.

"Good, now let's go." She said giving him another small hug. Following Draco's instructions they go down to the Slytherin chambers in which Voldemort awaited them. When first entering the cold chamber, both of them were a bit intimidated by the Dark Lord presence, but Ginny was quick to recover. She have no doubts that that man, as powerful, cruel and heartless as he was, was going to be defeated very soon. She had a world of faith in Harry and she knew he will not let them down, so no matter what happen, she will keep her façade for as long as necessary. She didn't feared Voldemort and she didn't vow down to him before, so she was not going to begin now.

Behind her, Neville had make his resolution. He could not fail Harry and Draco, not Ron and Luna and even less to the twins who patiently waited for their turn to act. He was a proud member of the Gryffindor house and bravery was something they all have and he was no exception. He will play his part as well as he could and help his friends and the world to get rid of their biggest threat.

"Alecto, Amycus, I'm glad you are finally back. I have a special task for the two of you. Soon, both Potter and Draco Malfoy will come to Hogwarts to save their friends. I want you to bring them to me as soon as they arrive. If they resist, you are free to use whatever means necessary to bring them both to me, but don't kill them. That will be my pleasure, I care not for the mudblood, not for the blood traitor, you can dispose of those as you desire and I know that you want the girl to toy with, right?" Voldemort said, looking and Ginny, who smiled evilly, with some disgusting pleasure.

"Of course, my Lord. I will make sure she is properly punished before killing her." Ginny said, which make Voldemort nod in approval. He was sat in front of the Slytherin fireplace, although his snake was nowhere to be seen.

"Just bring Potter and Malfoy to me." Lord Voldemort said to them in his imposing voice that expect no less but pure obedience.

"Of course my Lord. It will be my pleasure to bring them to you and we will take care of the rest." Ginny said, with another evil grin that make Neville proud. She could have a successful carrier as an awesome actress, once Voldemort was defeated.

"Excellent, now go. They will be here very soon…" And with a slight vow, both of them go out of the chamber. At first, they just stood there half in shock that they had dare to face him and live, but after a few minutes and no one coming to chase them, they were free to move as they pleased. Somehow, they had manage to fool the Lord. They still have a few things to do, so they walked toward the Great Hall. They needed to know just how the teachers were doing and if they all were safe, giving the circumstances.

Once they arrived and saw the 'hostages' Voldemort had no care in using against Harry and the others, they find out that there were not only Slytherin students, but a few Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students as well. It was a bit surprising at first, because they thought all students had been evacuated. However, the circumstances of those left behind were unknown or why the house elves had left them behind. Ginny approached Minerva McGonagall, which looked at her with open hatred.

"Hello there, Minerva… did you miss us? I bet you did. Actually, I have quite the surprise for you, right Amycus?" Ginny asked while pointing at her with her wand. To be honest, even he was beginning to wonder if the girl had been possessed by the original, yet he knew better. Draco had been right on the spot when saying she will do her part well, which make him relax.

"Of course, sister. Let's have some privacy, shall we?" He asked back, feeling more confident to do his part now.

"What, can't do the torture in front of kids? I will be surprise indeed…" She almost spat the words.

"Now, now, Minerva… torture is for less troublesome traitors, you have a very special kind of punishment. I will be honest, what am I thinking is too mess up for little sissy Slytherin's. You there!" Ginny pointed at one of the Slytherin seniors which were probably put in charge if no one else was around. Most Death Eaters were waiting for Harry's group in Hogsmaede. It wasn't exactly pleasant, even for those fully committed to be around Dementors, which were now free to wonder the castle, with absolute orders not to harm the ones Voldemort had chosen.

"We are expecting visits, as I'm sure you already know, so no one is allow to leave this place. We will return shortly, so make sure none of these students are harmed while we are gone… we got plans for them. I'm I clear?" She asked, in such an intimidating tone, than even some students from Hufflepuff flinched in worry at her words.

"Yes. We will make sure no one will leave." The senior student said and Ginny nodded in approval, then, taking Professor McGonagall by the arm, she half drag her a bit out of the Hall.

"I may be old, but I assure you, I can walk perfectly fine on my own…" Minerva said with a dignifying tone, once out of hearing ears.

"Oh, sorry about that Professor, it had to be convincing… otherwise we all will be in huge troubles." Ginny apologize, gaining a raised eyebrow from her transfiguration teacher.

"What do you mean?" Minerva asked a bit confusing.

"Just a moment Professor…" Neville said, guiding her to the nearest classroom. Once in there, Ginny casted a spell, so no one would be able to hear them.

"What's the mining of this? Had you finally snap from madness?" The woman asked, not sure of what to expect from the pair of nut-heads.

"Well, the thing is Professor, that we are not really the Carrow siblings. Actually, I'm Neville Longbottom and she is none other than Ginny Weasley." Neville explained.

"Good Lord, you really had gone mad…" Minerva whisper in disbelieve.

"Seriously Professor, Neville is telling you the true. Trust me, we had… Oh hell, I think she will believe Dobby more than us."

"Come one Ginny, Dobby is kind of busy with Ron and Luna's group."

"Just look at her, she kind of think we are a pair of nut-heads…"

"To be honest I can't blame her, you were really convincing out there. The way you spoke to you-know-who was fearless…"

"Wait… are you truly my students?" The Professor asked now completely shocked, now certain it was them. No real Death Eater will call Voldemort you-know-who.

"Yeah, a troublemaker Weasley at your service…" Ginny said theatrically, with a low bow.

"My goodness, child… had you gone mad meeting with Vo..."

"Sorry Professor, no names here. The enchantments in Malfoy's secret manor is strong enough to deflect the tracing and since we are not real Death Eaters, we are not allowed to say his full name." Ginny explained. Before, Seamus had asked Draco why he could said Voldemort's name without problems, but his response was kind of simple. Voldemort had his mark burned into their skins, there was no need to put them a further trace in them. He already had a way to summon them.

"I know that somehow this should not surprise me, but how did you manage a complete transfiguration? Even your voices sounds the same. With your current level, you shouldn't be able to do this kind advance magic." Minerva asked.

"Well, there is nothing Hermione Granger can't do when in need of it. She make the Polyjuce potion for us a while ago. Actually, she had been doing it since… what was it? Second year? Third?" Minerva laughed at that and despite their appearances, she moved to hug her students.

"I'm so glad you are alright. I feared the worst when I hear that the Dark Lord had taken you…" She said, feeling less tired and more relieved than ever.

"That was a close one… still, Snape was killed when protecting Draco and Hermione." Neville said, with a glimpse of sadness.

"We were all wrong about him, but maybe now he is resting in peace. Now, tell what happen and leave nothing out." She said.

"Hum… Professor, it's kind of a long story and we don't know how much time we had left before the others complete their parts…"

"Yeah… we need to make sure the rest of the students are going to be safe. Harry is coming and so the war will begin. Where is your wand?" Neville asked.

"They took it from me. All of our wands, actually." She responded.

"Do you know where they took them?" Neville asked again.

"My guess, is they took them to the Headmaster office. I heard Alecto suggesting it. Only very few students know the password."

"Bloody idiots… I was hoping not to go there anytime soon." Ginny said sighing.

"It's kind of unavoidable now. We better hurry, just like he said, they will be here any moment now." Neville said.

"Yep. We follow you, Professor… but… I kind of have to escort you with my wand…"

"I understand Ginny Weasley. Worry not, let's hurry and you can tell me everything on the way there."

"Right…" And they follow McGonagall to the Headmaster office, while answering her many questions as best as they could. Once inside the office they quietly looked for the wands. Two Headmaster had been killed one after the other and the place felt odd, like there was something heavy in the air itself. Maybe it was sorrow, or perhaps it was just his imagination, nevertheless, the place was empty, as not even the portraits have their usual owners whispering among them. Not even Dumbledore.

"Professor… are there some spells that can protect the castle somehow?" Ginny asked. "We need as much help as we can."

"There are many spells that can guard the castle and once I have my wand back I will activate some, however, I'm afraid the strongest spells needs more than a few wizards to fully cover the castle."

"Oh…" Ginny said, still looking for the wands. Neville however, found himself face to face with the sorting hat.

"Hey, are you awake?" Neville asked the hat, in hope that the thing could tell them were the wands had been hidden.

"A hat never sleep boy." The hat responded coming back to life.

"So… do you…"

"I'm just a hat. I know nothing about lost wands…"

"Then how?"

"I read minds, just like I'm reading yours. It seems to me that you are lacking something that you should have." The hat said making Neville frown in confusion.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked curiously.

"A fang will take longer to kill the snake, it will be faster if you slice its head with the sword." He advised.

"The sword of Gryffindor? I… I don't have it. Hermione have it in her magical bag." He whisper.

"Don't be a fool boy, the sword of Gryffindor belongs to all, not to one particular member of the house. If you are in need, you can summon the sword from me as well, like Potter did once."

"Seriously? That will be helpful. I mean, if Harry doesn't need it more."

"Potter's fate will fade away soon, he has no need of it now."

"Oh… so, it's really going to happen? I was hoping that Draco's had seen that part wrongly…" He whisper, making sure that Ginny was out of earshot.

"I have known about this ever since he put me on his head. There are some things that cannot be changed, no matter how hard you try."

"But Malfoy's destiny had definitely changed. He is one of us now, something's can be changed." He insisted.

"The boy had a few open paths for him since childhood. He was once one of you long ago, before his parents filled his head with all kinds of prejudices. If I had been put over his head when he was seven, I would had yell either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, despite all the Slytherin's in his family. The boy didn't born with a Slytherin disposition, something that I'm sure Lucius Malfoy found unacceptable."

"So he will be a Gryffindor now, if you had the chance to place him again?" Neville asked even more curiously.

"The boy still see himself as a Slytherin and choices are what I respect the most. For that very reason I put Potter in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. He had such a strong connection with the house, I have a hard time not placing him there. He beg me no to place him in Slytherin, so I put him on his second best. Actually I had a hard time with the Granger girl too, she would had been a fine Ravenclaw member…"

"Yeah, she definitely had the brain for it…"

"But you boy are without a doubt a fine member of your house. Even now, I will place you again and again in the same house. Your heart holds great courage and care for your friends and you will be a hero. That's your destiny. Remember that…"

"Hey Neville! We found them!" Ginny yelled in the other side of the office.

"Okay, I'm coming!"

"Wait… take me with you and you will fulfil your part." The hat said and without a second thought, Neville hide it under his robes, until his time comes.

Ron

"Bloody hell, just how is looking for a small tiara in this HUGE room full of all kinds of things, easy?" Ron asked Luna, a bit annoyed with their current problem. Luckily enough, they had manage to get inside the room of requirement just fine thanks to Dobby's help, but after seen the overwhelming amount of objects stored in the almost infinite room, he had come to realize that their task was no walk in the park, as Luna had assured him just before they leaved the mansion.

"Well Ron, we got it better than Harry's group and besides…" Luna took out a pair of weird eyeglasses with the shape of stars from one of her many pockets, "I have my own way to look for the tiara. It's not the same as Draco's seen all eyeglasses, but it will allow us to detect dark magic."

"Yeah, as if this room isn't already full of it, just piece of cake…" He added with sarcasm.

"And that's exactly why Hermione ditch you for Draco and honestly Ron, who can blame her? Man, chill out, we already had enough troubles in our hands and having something is better than nothing at all. Give me one of those Luna." Seamus said while taking the eyeglasses she offered.

"Come on Ron, let's look for the darkest thing in here. You can take Dobby with you if you want. It will be best if we split up and if someone find it, just yell something and we will be coming." Luna suggested and Seamus agree.

"Fine then, I will be going this way…" He signal to his right and the others walked away in a different direction. "Well Dobby, can you sense the Horcrux?" Ron asked just to say something.

"Horcruxes are well protected. Dobby will keep an eye on anything full of dark magic." The little one said, looking right and left.

"Yeah, you sure have big ones to look for…" He said, feeling frustrated for everything that had happen to him ever since he leaved Harry and Hermione alone in that tent. He was sulking, he knew, but what else he could do? Somehow he had failed at everything he said he will succeed, except for finding the fangs. He wanted to protect his family, yet Ginny was almost killed right in front of him, if it wasn't for the ferret. He wanted to hate Malfoy, because they had been enemies for such a long time. It was hard to see him as something else, even when he had proved he was on their side and specially, because he had taken Hermione's heart away from him in record time.

He needed something to redeem himself, to prove that he had been chosen to do a greater good. That he had not failed them all halfway. He tried to concentrate in the feelings he had when carrying the locket and walked blindly around the rows and rows of innumerable objects. If he could feel something similar at what he felt before, even if it wasn't a locket, maybe he could place the thing. However, he needed to be on his guard, so Voldemort's soul could not affect him even more than it had.

"Come on, come on… just where are you? Aren't you suppose to attract victims to you in order to control them?" He asked to himself. The diary had used Ginny to his own purposes, so he knew he was not wrong. He and Dobby walked and walked for what seems like days, but it must have been mostly like an hour or two, when he felt something hot in his pocket.

"Damn it!" He took the hidden coin and read the message. Draco's group had taken their Horcrux and in a few minutes they will be transported to the kitchen by house elves magic. They were running out of time and so far, no one had found the tiara. Out of frustration he gave one of the nearest shelves a hard kick and to his horror, the thing begin to move out of balance and all kind of things begin to fall, making the shelves in front and behind to give in to gravity as well. Soon, it was like a chain reaction and he end up covered with dozens of things over him, even when Dobby try his best to shield him with his magic.

"Wow that was close…" He said, while trying to pull himself up from the floor full of objects. Then, maybe by luck or perhaps by fate itself, just a few inches from his right hand, he saw it. Rowena Ravenclaw's tiara of wisdom was right in his reach and he felt it. The darkness surrounding it was calling to him, he didn't notice it before because he was already full of it, yet there it was and for the first time in a while he smiled.

"I found you, Riddle… or perhaps you found me. Either way… it's time to end this fight. Do your worst, I will be ready…" He said, pointing his wand up to make some sparks to signal the others to come. Then, he cover the tiara in a piece of cloak and sent Harry the message. He had find the Horcrux and was ready to destroy it at his signal. His moment of true had come and he will not fail this time around, no matter what.

AN: This chapter is mostly in preparation for the ending events. I will try to make it as original as I can, aside from Harry's death and revival. Thanks for reading.