Chapter 269: Wanna go on a trip?

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 269: Wanna go on a trip?

"I can't believe it…" Daphne said.

"Which part?" Harry asked.

"The part where you decided to go all vigilante and hunt down those men."

"Death Eaters, and… I only managed to hunt down one of them before I got stuck again." Harry clarified.

"You went alone to raid the ancient home of a pureblood wizard family… you do know how dangerous that was, right?" Daphne exclaimed.

"Are you seriously worried? You know that I can take care of myself."

"I know you are strong, but you are not invincible… no one is." Daphne said.

"I assure you… I am very much aware of my lack of invincibility. More than you can imagine…" Harry said the last part in a low tone. "Now… I did my part. Now, can you answer my previous question?"

"About Pansy?... Why are you looking for her?" She stared at him with knowing eyes. "You think she is going to take you to her father?"

"At this point, she may be my only way to reach the rest of them. Other than assaulting the Ministry of Magic." Harry told her.

"She may not be my best friend… but she does not deserve to be used like that." Daphne had a serious look on her face.

"I don't like it either. But what else can I do? Wait for Parkinson to organize another attack on the school? Maybe next time he will send people to my house. I already tried following my father's advice and taking things slow… it doesn't work for me." Harry said.

Daphne remained silent for a minute.

"I can't help you with that."

"Daphne…"

"It's not that." She shook her head. "Pansy left the school shortly after you went missing. She said that her family was taking their vacation a bit earlier than usual and that she would finish her last school tests during the summer. We probably won't see her again until the next term, unless she speaks to me during the summer."

"An early vacation?..." That sounded to Harry like the Minister was running away from something.

'The question is… what is he running away from? He could be afraid of someone pinning the blame for the attack on Hogwarts on him. After all, it was a party organized by the Minister in person, and everyone allowed access into the school was approved by him and his Ministry… or, he is running away from whoever attacked the Rookwood castle and killed Augustus.'

"Harry?" Daphne shook his head.

"I was thinking…"

"I wish you did that more often before jumping into some reckless actions again. But… we already missed Potions, if we don't leave this broom closet, we are also going to miss the next class."

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"Wanna go on a trip?"

The old man looked a bit tired as he returned the stare.

"Harry… tomorrow is the end of the year feast. I am very busy with all the preparations…"

"Oh, but I think you will find this one very interesting." Harry leaned forward on the Headmaster's desk.

This managed to pique Dumbledore's interest. He was confident that Harry would not waste his time with something useless at least.

"Very well… tell me more about this. Where do you want to go?"

"A cave." Harry simply said.

"A cave?..." Dumbledore repeated. "I have to assume you don't mean for us to go spelunking for fun on the second to last day of the year."

"There is more to that cave. It is located on a cliff at the end of the Thames River, west of London. It is fairly close to the orphanage of a certain former student of yours… Tom Riddle."

Dumbledore's face changed completely.

"Riddle… and what did he do in that cave?"

"That's what I want to find out. Why don't we go take a look?" Harry suggested.

"You must have known about this place for a long time… why bring it up now? Why haven't you gone there before?" Dumbledore asked what was on his mind at the moment.

Harry shrugged. "There was no point. Back then, we were looking for the Horcruxes… but there is something else I want to check this time around." Harry said.

"I see." Dumbledore sighed. "Very well, I will accompany you there." He stood up from his chair.

"I assume you want to depart as soon as possible, considering how little time we have left."

Harry pulled his wand out and held his left arm in the air.

"Hold on to it… we are leaving now."

"It was a good thing I was yet to put on my pajamas." Dumbledore commented.

"Yeah… it may be a bit cold for that." Harry said as the old Headmaster grabbed his arm.

"Let us go then."

Harry lifted his wand up and the next instant… they were gone.

When they opened their eyes, they were on a rocky cliff. It was a cold and windy night. And as usual in these parts of the country… it was raining.

Dumbledore made a noise of displeasure before using some magic to protect himself from the weather.

"Lovely place this is…"

"Yes, he knew how to choose them." Harry pointed ahead, towards a darker area in the rocky walls. "If my memory doesn't fail me… the cave should be over there."

"Let us proceed with caution then. If this cave was used by the individual that you claimed, then I have no doubts about the presence of powerful protections." Dumbledore warned him.

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