Forbidden Magic 56

Forbidden Magic 56

Chapter 56 - Illusions

With a loud crack, the two house elves came into view with the portrait. It was empty as they set it down on the tent floor. “Kreacher, please, I’m asking you not to tell anyone where we are. Understood?” Harry looked down at the elf who nodded his head.

“Yes sir,” Kreacher said, “anything else you need from Kreacher?”

“Not right now,” Harry told him, “Thank you. Both of you.”

“Anything for you Harry Potter!” Dobby bowed. The two elves apparated away with a loud crack leaving the four of them with an empty portrait.

“Hermione what are you doing?” Ron asked her as she was wrapping the portrait with a cloth. “We won’t be able to see him!”

“That’s the point Ron,” she mumbled. “He’s hanging in the same office where Snape is. Do you really want him to tell Snape where we are?”

The redhead shook his head no. “Thought so, go ahead and call him Harry,” Hermione took a seat next to Ginny on their bed as Harry got close to the wrapped up portrait.

“Phineas,” Harry called, “I need you please!”

“Harry?” a voice rang out in the tent. “Oh, I can’t see a thing! What’s the meaning of this?!”

“I’m sorry Phineas,” Harry apologized, “I can’t allow you to see where I am.”

“I see how it is,” the man said in a rather snobbish tone, “Well, what is it that you want boy?”

“I need to ask you something since you spend so much time in the headmaster’s office, it’s about the sword of Gryffindor,” Harry started.

“The sword? It’s gone,” Phineas stated.

“I know, but would you happen to know what happened to the real one?” Harry asked him.

“Last time I saw the blasted thing Dumbledore had it,” he said.

“What do you mean Dumbledore had it?”

“I mean just that,” he answered grumpily, “He had a ring in his hand and well, he used the sword to destroy it.”

“The ring,” Harry uttered, “Is that why Dumbledore’s hand was so sickly when I saw it?”

“Heaven’s no,” Phineas answered in a surprised tone. “He placed the damn thing on his ring finger. Why he did so, I have no idea. He was cursed from that because as you might have guessed, the ring was a horcrux.”

“The sword, did Dumbledore take it with him?”

“Yes, but I cannot tell you where it is now because I do not know. Anything else you want to know?”

“No, thank you Phineas,” Harry said with disappointment.

“Farewell then,” Phineas left the portrait and Hermione placed the entire wrapped thing into her enchanted bag. Ron lifted an eyebrow at her and got up.

“Well, as much as I would love to ask Hermione why the hell she’s placing that portrait into her bag, I think I have to be the first to say that this quest is useless!” Ron screamed.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Harry got up and stood in his best friend’s face.

“What am I talking about?” Ron said sarcastically, “I don’t know Harry! How about, no sword, no destroying this crap?”

“Ron, there are more ways to destroy these things,” Hermione stated angrily. Ginny didn’t say a word as she curled up on the bed feeling hopeless but not vocalizing it to the rest of them.

“The sword is important Hermione and now we don’t have it,” Ron said.

“What are you saying?!” Harry shouted at him, “Are you telling me that this whole thing is a big fat waste of your precious time?!”

Ron stood up to Harry with rage in his eyes, “yes Harry, I am, but I didn’t really want to say it like that. I’m glad that you took the words out of my mouth!”

“Then you shouldn’t be here! Ginny and Hermione are here for me and aren’t giving up on our quest to defeat Voldermort!” Harry yelled.

“You better stop saying his name because you don’t know where it’s going to land you!” Ron shouted. “Oh, wait, did you say our quest? Did you say you don’t want me here? Fine! To hell with you! Oh, and it’s always been your quest! Not ours! Come on Ginny!”

Ginny got up, and even though she was disappointed and feeling helplessly, she believed in Harry and his ability to continue without the sword. “No Ron,” Ginny grunted as she stood up to her brother, “I’m staying. Sword or no sword I believe in Harry.”

“I see how important family is to you,” Ron spat.

“It’s very important to me Ronald,” Ginny stated, “but that doesn’t mean that I have to agree with what you are saying. If you want to leave, that’s up to you.”

Ron didn’t say another word as he angrily stormed out of the tent and the trio heard him stomp away.

“That bloody idiot!” Hermione shouted. “Why the hell did you even get into a fight over something so stupid? He’s acting like that’s the only way to destroy them!”

“I mean, we have the ring, the diary and soon to be, the locket, don’t we?” Ginny sighed as she plopped her body down onto the soft bed.

“Let’s go, forget Ron, we won’t see him again most likely,” Harry said, “We need to keep moving.”

Sadly, Ginny and Hermione helped Harry move the tent to a new location. Once there the three of them put their heads together on possible locations for the sword. Harry. “Godric’s Hollow,” Harry stated, “There might be a chance that Dumbledore left me the sword there.”

“If you think so, then we’ll go with you,” Ginny said, “Is that…”

“Yes,” Harry answered as if he were reading her thoughts. The three of them didn’t wait; they packed up and apparated away to the hollow that evening. Hermione’s eyes scanned the small place as she looked up to a church, a small pub inside a small village square.

“Oh, is that a cemetery?” Ginny asked as she pointed behind the church. Muggles passed them by as they walked up the street. Harry nodded his head in reply to Ginny. Her eyes left his as she looked at it once again.

They slowly made their way to it as the sun set over the small village. Headstones were coming into view and Hermione’s eyes passed over the stones until she noticed a name she recognized.

“Abbott?” she questioned as she looked down at the tombstone. She traced her finger over the names craved in the stone, “Hannah’s family?”

“Hannah, the Hufflepuff that Neville seemed to like?” Harry asked as he kneeled beside Hermione. She merely only nodded her head in reply to him as her eyes looked up to see something in the center of the cemetery.

Ginny was already looking up at something but Hermione didn’t understand what she was looking at until she got up and moved closer. She gasped at the sight when she turned to call Harry towards her with her hands. Harry ran up to them but stopped when he noticed what they were shocked at.

“Did you know this was here?” Ginny asked him. She noticed there was a tear in his eye. Harry shook his head, “I didn’t.”

“Your mum is beautiful,” Ginny stated as her eyes scanned the statue. “And you do have her eyes Harry.”

The three of them took in the statue for what seemed like hours before they moved on to the gravestones of Harry’s parents. Hermione looked around for signs of any muggles before she took out her wand. Orchideous, she thought in her head as a Christmas wreath was conjured out of her wand. She handed it to Harry, “for them since Christmas is coming soon after all.”

She pocketed her wand as Harry laid the wreath on the grave. They stood over it until Ginny froze in fear. She noticed that someone had been watching them the entire time they were at the grave site. “G-Guys,” Ginny tugged on Hermione’s sweater.

The bushy haired brunette turned her head and was about to say ‘what is it’ when she noticed the figure peering at them. The figure didn’t say a word but merely beckoned them to follow her. The streets were quiet now with the soft glow of street lamps washing over the concrete. “S-she wants us to follow her,” Ginny stuttered once again.

Harry was already following the old woman down the street as Hermione grabbed Ginny by her sweater as they ran after him. “Wait!” she called to him but he showed no signs of slowing down.

“What is wrong with him?” Ginny asked as she caught up with Harry finally. She noticed that he seemed to be under a trance of some sort as the woman escorted them into her home.

“I don’t know, but this woman is Bathilda Bagshot,” Hermione whispered softly.

“Who?” Ginny asked.

“Don’t you read?” Hermione sighed, “She’s the woman who wrote, A History of Magic. Binns uses her book.”

“And you know this how?” Ginny asked her with a cocked eyebrow.

“Just follow her,” Hermione tugged on the younger girl until all three of them were in a dimly lit living room that was filthier than Grimmauld Place. Ugh, Hermione thought, this house makes the Black house look like a mansion.

Ginny sneezed softly as Harry was being lured upstairs by the woman. He had overheard Hermione and knew that she had been a friend of Dumbledore. He was hoping that perhaps she had the sword they had been searching for.

The two girls watched Harry disappear as Ginny picked up a picture frame. “Who is this?” she asked.

The photo was that of a smiling wizard with blond hair. Hermione took the photo into her hands and looked it over. “Here, it says it’s Grindelwald,” she answered Ginny.

“T-The dark wizard?” Ginny whispered. Hermione nodded her head, “We’ll have to ask Harry about it later.” With that, she looked around the room quickly causing her hair to bounce from side to side. She stuffed it inside her bag. Ginny’s eyes went wide with disbelief.

“What are you doing?” Ginny asked her. Hermione was about to answer when they both heard screaming from the back of the upstairs. “Harry?!” the two girls screamed in unison. They wasted no time in running upstairs.

As they entered the doorway, the image they saw would take years to erase from their memories. Bagshot’s body was opening up to reveal a huge snake hiding in her rotting body. It slithered from the remains as they dropped to the floor. There was a conversation that went on between Harry and her, but they couldn’t understand it.

“Run!” Harry screamed as the snake snapped its fang at him. He took out his wand as the girls took their out. Harry blasted the snake in the face as they ran for a window, however, the snake was quick to block out their exit.

“Stupefy!” Hermione yelled but the red jet hit the wall instead of the snake who was ducking out of the way of the spell.

“Vol-I mean, You-Know-Who’s snake! Nagini!” Harry yelled, “We have to escape!”

“Fine! Confringo!” Ginny yelled as a large blast hit the snake through the house. In the explosion they heard Harry scream but Hermione grabbed them both as they jumped out the window.

They landed with a thud as Hermione was the first up, “RUN!” Ginny got up and reached for Harry before a dazed Nagini could get a hold of him. They only managed a narrowed escaped into the streets before Voldermort showed up for them.

They apparated away into the fields with another loud crack and a loud thud, Harry was on his knees crying over something in his hands. The two girls ran over to him thinking him to be hurt but there was nothing other than a few scratches on him.

“What’s wrong?” Ginny asked him. His green eyes looked up at her as he threw on the grass his broken wand.

“Oh,” Ginny was stricken with sorrow as she looked at it, “I’m sorry! I just wanted us to escape! I didn’t think that the spell would break that, I’m so sorry Harry!”

“It’s not your fault,” Harry said weakly. “We can’t stay here, we need to keep running.”

They all held on to each other as they apparated away to a new spot. The guilt and sorrow that Ginny felt was carried onto to the night and it kept Hermione awake. She looked out of the tent later that night at a nearly full moon. She sighed as Ginny’s guilt washed over her. It’s not like you knew, Hermione thought. Your temper surely is something that needs to be controlled but I guess it was the right thing to do. It surely saved us.

Hermione’s eyes looked over to Ginny’s bed to see the outline of the girl’s breathing. She couldn’t tell if she was asleep but she decided not to take a chance and wake her. Rolling over she quickly went to sleep despite the feeling of guilt washing over her.

The sun rose in the sky and Hermione was awoken by a feeling of loneliness mixed with the same guilt from last night. She rolled her body over to see Ginny breathing abnormally. She shifted her eyes to Harry’s bed to see that he is missing and so is Hermione’s wand. She pans to the front of the tent to see his figure outside.

She sees him trying to repair his wand with hers. A frown washes over her face as she gets up to check on Ginny. “Are you awake?” she whispered to the redhead before she noticed that she was crying into her pillow.

Ginny jumped and quickly wiped her tears away. “Yes,” she answered, “I have been for a while. I saw Harry take your wand. He said he was going to try to fix his. I feel so horrible about breaking that wand. I know how important it is.”

“It’s ok, you didn’t know that was going to happen,” Hermione placed a hand on Ginny’s shoulder for comfort. “But I have to wonder where this feeling of loneliness is coming from?”

“I haven’t really been with you alone in days,” Ginny answered shamefully. Hermione could feel shame from her and Ginny could feel compassion from the older girl by her side.

“It’s going to be hard right now,” she told her as she ran her hand over her back, “but we are going to make it out of this alive. When we do, we’ll be together all the time and you can finish school.”

“What about you?” Ginny asked rolling onto her back. Her brown eyes peered into Hermione’s as a feeling of amusement washed over her.

“I will,” she said, “This war is going to make us grow up so much faster than we want to.”

Ginny reached up and kissed Hermione softly on the lips. “It doesn’t matter to me,” she said in a whisper, “as long as we are alive and as long as we can live happy long lives after this nightmare.”

Hermione nodded her head and looked over at Harry who was coming back into the tent. “Forget it! I can’t seem to fix it,” Harry threw his wand into Hermione’s bag and took a seat on one of the chairs in the tent.

“You can use mine when you need to Harry, I know it’s not much,” Ginny stated. Harry smiled at her and turned his head to the table.

“I miss Luna already,” he said, “I’m so tired of running.”

“Our lives are going to be better after all of this,” Hermione said, “I can feel it.”

Days passed and they moved from place to place. Finally, after about three days after the attack, they were settled down near a dark forest on Christmas Eve. The trio celebrated the worst Christmas they’ve had in a while. Ginny, who was still crossed with herself over the wand, excused herself out into the forest late that night. “Do you want me to come with you?” Hermione asked.

“No, I need some time to myself,” Ginny told her. Hermione said nothing more as she watched the redhead exit the tent. “Will she be ok out there?” the brunette asked Harry.

“She’ll be fine, she just needs air,” Harry answered her; “I know I needed that days ago because I felt like such a fool. It’s not her fault that my wand broke, it’s mine.”

“Why do you say that?” Hermione tilted her head at him.

“Because I followed her with some hope that the sword was going to be there for us, but it wasn’t,” he told her. “I just feel stupid.”

“Don’t,” Hermione told him. She placed a hand on his to comfort him. A smile passed over his lips but he wasn’t really comforted by Hermione’s kindness that time.

Meanwhile, Ginny was near a lake that was frozen over by the harsh winter. Her brown eyes were scanning the trees as the wind whispered over the leaves. She sighed as she traced her wand over the ice in the lake. She drew out a heart with Hermione’s name over it.

She wasn’t sure why, but she took the locket with her. She took it out of her pocket and looked it over in her hands. “Am I really a bad person?” she asked the locket. It did nothing but gleam under the light of forest. She put it around her neck and clasped it in place.

“Hermione says I shouldn’t lose my temper,” Ginny told the locket, “I guess that every time I do, I feel like I can’t keep control. Is that a bad thing?”

Again there was no answer from the locket. She wore it with no problems as another sigh passed her lips. She looked up to look into the woods again and saw a patronus light. It caught her attention almost instantly.

Ginny remembered what Harry had told her about his parents as the patronus turned into a doe. “Lily?” she whispered as the doe’s head lifted to stare at the girl. “Do you want me to follow you?” she asked.

The doe said nothing as it walked across the lake. Ginny’s eyes looked down into the lake that was only partly frozen, not completely as she first thought. “Do you want me to…?” Ginny didn’t finish her sentence as she looked down to see something gleam under the patronus’ light.

“A handle!” she cried as she started to strip off her clothing. She was down to only her underwear and the locket around her neck as she peered down into the depths of the icy lake. She dove into the water as a rush of cold shocked her.

Back in the tent, Hermione felt a surge of cold. “Ginny!” she cried out. She ran from the tent to look for her partner as Harry ran after her. “Hermione, please wait!” Harry called as he ran after her.

Hermione had her wand gripped tightly in her wand. I’m coming for you!

The water was thick as Ginny swam towards the sword; it was gleaming as if it were for her and only for her. Her hand outreached for the handle, but she was caught on something. She started to choke on the locket as she reached her hands over the chain.

“Ginny!” Hermione yelled as she felt herself choke. “What the hell!” Hermione nearly fell to the floor with the intense pain around her neck. “GINNY!”

Ron was finding his way towards the lake when he noticed his sister jump down into the lake. “GINNY!” he yelled. He heard Hermione’s voice ring out through the trees. “HERMIONE?”

“RONALD?!” Hermione yelled as she ran towards the lake. She felt that the choking sensation stopped and her fears were coming full circle. Without thinking, or taking off her clothes, she dove into the lake to rescue her lover. Ginny felt hands wrap around her waist as her unconscious body was pulled out of the water.

I can’t feel you! I can’t feel you! Wake up! Please wake up! Harry and Ron were waiting at the lake. The patronus walked away but before it did Harry whispered, “thank you mum” into the night air.

Ron’s outstretched hands held onto Hermione as they both pulled Ginny out of the water. “Wake up! Damn it!” Hermione was frantic as she looked down at the redheaded girl’s pale face.

She pressed her wand to Ginny’s throat and then to her lungs, anapneo. Coughing up water, Ginny sat up with a start. Hermione wrapped her arms around her tightly. “What happened to me?” the confused girl asked.

“You were in the water, and then I felt you being icy cold then I felt you choke!” Hermione latched onto her. “Then, then there was nothing. Ginny, I felt nothing from you.”

Ron looked into the lake once his sister was ok and noticed the gleam of the sword. He turned back and noticed the locket around his sister’s neck. “Ginny, what the bloody hell?” he screamed at her as he rushed to her.

He ripped the locket off of her body and threw it to the floor. “That is what made you…” his voice trailed off as the locket opened up as it faced him. The other three were silent as the locket showed an image of Ariana wrapping her beautiful arms around George.

They were both dark but overly handsome as they looked at him. “He might be missing an ear, but I think he is much older, mature and just the right guy for me,” Ariana laughed.

“NO!” Ron ran towards the locket but stopped when he heard his brother laugh a cold icy laugh. “You can’t stop us Ron. You were always the weakest link of the family. Don’t you know what by now little brother? You are weak!”

“Pathetic! Stupid and slow too, you didn’t mention that George,” Ariana broke out into an evil laughter. Tears rolled down Ron’s eyes as he picked the locket up in his hands and dove into the water.

“RON! NO!” Hermione called out but it was too late. The three of them had their six eyes glued to his figure as he swam to the body of the lake. They saw him struggle with the sword but finally unearthed it. He swam to the top and broke the surface. Violently, he lunged himself out of the frozen water and threw the locket to the floor.

“ENOUGH!” he screamed with a roar as he rammed the sword into the locket causing it to explode with a violent force that caused them all to be knocked backwards.