|
"I'll explain it back in my room, the smell's getting to me," said RonThey climbed back down the ladder, which Ron returned to the ceiling, and rejoined Hermione, who was still sorting books
"Once we've left, the ghoul's going to come and live down here in my room," said Ron"I think he's really looking forward to it - well, it's hard to tell, because all he can do is moan and drool - but he nods a lot when you mention itAnyway, he's going to be me with spattergroitGood, eh?"
Harry merely looked his confusion
"It is!" said Ron, clearly frustrated that Harry had not grasped the brilliance of the plan"Look, when we three don't turn up at Hogwarts again, everyone's going to think Hermione and I must be with you, right? Which means the Death Eaters will go straight for our families to see if they've got information on where you are
"But hopefully it'll look like I've gone away with Mum and Dad; a lot of Muggle-borns are talking about going into hiding at the moment," said Hermione
"We can't hide my whole hermes birkin bags family, it'll look too fishy and they can't all leave their jobs," said Ron"So we're going to put out the story that I'm seriously ill with spattergroit, which is why I can't go back to schoolIf anyone comes calling to investigate, Mum or Dad can show them the ghoul in my bed, covered in pustulesSpattergroit's really contagious, so they're not going to want to go near himIt won't matter that he can't say anything, either, because apparently you can't once the fungus has spread to your uvula
"And your mum and dad are in on this plan?" asked HarryHe helped Fred and George transform the ghoulwell, you've seen what she's likeShe won't accept we're going till we're gone
There was silence in the room, broken only by gentle thuds as Hermione continued to throw books onto one pile or the otherRon sat watching her, and Harry looked from one to the other, unable to say anythingThe measure they had taken to protect their families made him realize, more than anything else could have done, that they really were omega watches going to come with him and that they knew exactly how dangerous that would beHe wanted to tell them what that meant to him, but he simply could not find words important enough
Through the silence came the muffled sounds of MrsWeasley shouting from four floors below
"Ginny's probably left a speck of dust on a poxy napkin ring," said Ron"I dunno why the Delacours have got to come two days before the wedding
"Fleur's sister's a bridesmaid, she needs to be here for the rehearsal, and she's too young to come on her own," said Hermione, as she pored indecisively over \iBreak with a Banshee\i
"Well, guests aren't going to help Mum's stress levels," said Ron
"What we really need to decide," said Hermione, tossing \iDefensive Magical Theory\i into the bin without a second glance and picking up \iAn Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe\i, "is where we're going after we leave hereI know you said you wanted to go to Godric's Hollow first, Harry, and I understand why, but shouldn't we make the Horcruxes our new omega watches priority?"
"If we knew where any of the Horcruxes were, I'd agree with you," said Harry, who did not believe that Hermione really understood his desire to return to Godric's HollowHis parents' graves were only part of the attraction: He had a strong, though inexplicable, feeling that the place held answers for himPerhaps it was simply because it was there that he had survived Voldemort's Killing Curse; now that he was facing the challenge of repeating the feat, Harry was drawn to the place where it had happened, wanting to understand
"Don't you think there's a possibility that Voldemort's keeping a watch on Godric's Hollow?" Hermione asked"He might expect you to go back and visit your parents' graves once you're free to go wherever you like?"
This had not occurred to HarryWhile he struggled to find a counterargument, Ron spoke up, evidently following his own train of thought"You know, the one who stole the real locket?"
Hermione nodded
"He said in his note he was going to destroy it, didn't he?"
Harry dragged mens cartier watch his rucksack toward him and pulled out the fake Horcrux in which R's note was still folded
"\i'I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can
"Well, what if he \idid\i finish it off?" said Ron
"Whichever," said Ron"it'd be one less for us to do!"
"Yes, but we're still going to have to try and trace the real locket, aren't we?" said Hermione, "to find out whether or not it's destroyed
"And once we get hold of it, how \ido\i you destroy a Horcrux?" asked Ron
"Well," said Hermione, "I've been researching that"I didn't think there were any books on Horcruxes in the library?"
"There weren't," said Hermione, who had turned pink"Dumbledore removed them all, but he - he didn't destroy them Ron sat up straight, wide-eyed
"How in the name of Merlin's pants have you managed to get your hands on those Horcrux books?"
"It - it wasn't stealing!" said Hermione, looking from Harry to Ron with a kind of desperation"They were still library books, even if Dumbledore had taken them off the wholesale gucci messenger bag shelve |
| 