Be Careful in the Dark

Hermione sat in Dumbledore’s office, holding a steaming cup of tea close to her chest, staring off into space. She was waiting for Harry and Ron now that she had finished her NEWTs. She had graduated. She was done.

Her mind churned. She would need to run another set of arithmantic calculations to take into consideration that Voldemort had an auror on his side. She hadn’t had a chance yet. Would her plan still work? She turned the possibilities over in her mind.

Thumping on the stairs warned her of Harry and Ron’s arrival. She set her tea cup down and stood, a grin already forming. Harry and Ron burst through the door as one, knocking her over in their enthusiasm.

“How are you?”

“Did you blow your NEWTs out of the water?”

“Thank god you’re ok.”

“It’s so good to see you!”

The words tumbled out of their mouths, one over the next and Hermione could hardly get a word in edgewise. In the jumbled language of close friends, she determined that they had passed their NEWTs, they were ok, they’d missed her, and they had a very, very big secret.

Dumbledore stood, gently beaming, until their words dried up. All three of them turned to look at their former Headmaster.

“Give me your hands, children.” Dumbledore reached out his hands as he spoke. Ron and Harry grasped one each without hesitation. They each gripped one of her hands. Hermione felt the pull of a portkey in her navel.

The dizziness passed and she was standing in an oval room made of grey stone. There were no windows, no chairs, and no decorations. Up against one wall was a wooden table with three objects on it. A ring, a locket, and… Tom Riddle’s diary. The diary had a gaping hole in it and was charred along the edges. Hermione shivered.

“What am I looking at, gentleman?” Her voice came out a whisper.

“Pieces of Voldemort’s soul.” Harry said, his voice hard and icy.

Hermione jerked in surprise. The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck rose and she shivered.

“Young Mister Riddle showed a knack for the Dark Arts at a young age, I’m afraid.” Dumbledore said, moving closer to the table. He folded his hands behind his back and looked down at the objects.

“They’re called horcruxes.” Harry also stepped closer to the table. “They are created through acts of murder and shave off a piece of someone’s soul. They can then be resurrected through that horcrux though it means that they will spend their entire lives with only a fragment of their soul.”

They were now all standing next to the table, staring at the… horcruxes.

“How did he discover this?” Hermione asked, her voice still soft.

“References to such dark magic have been stripped from books. However, one of the professors at Hogwart’s during Tom Riddle’s tenure here had some knowledge of the things. Riddle probably pieced the last of it together himself. Such is the way of Dark Magics.” Dumbledore sighed as he spoke, for once his age and weariness coming through.

“How many of them are there?” Hermione licked dry lips and suppressed another shudder.

“We aren’t sure but…” Harry trailed off.

“Seven. We think there are seven.” Ron filled in. Hermione looked over at her red-headed friend. His blue eyes were bleak as he stared at the objects in front of them. His mouth was pressed into a tight line. She looked at Dumbledore and Harry who had similar expression.

“Do we know what they all are?” She was playing catch-up and she hated it.

“No. We have these three. There is another… the cup of Helga Hufflepuff. I know Tom had access to it. I don’t know where it is though.” Dumbledore replied.

“The Death Eaters that attacked the school… you think they were after a horcrux.”

“Perhaps. We can’t be sure. Voldemort may not even know that is horcruxes have been disturbed. However, he has shown a pattern for placing them in locations connected to him. The ring was found in his maternal grandfather’s home. The locket was found in a sea-side cave that Riddle visited as a child. Harry and I were… ahem, liberating it, the day the Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts.”

“He also, surprise, surprise, starting showing his power-hungry side a touch early.” Ron said, lips twisting to one side. “The locket carries the mark of Salazar Slytherin.”

Hermione chewed this information over for a moment.

“We have another problem.” Harry said, as he picked up the locket.

Hermione stared at him, dread building in her belly.

“We don’t know how to destroy them.”

“But… they can be destroyed.” She pointed to the diary.

“See many basilisks wandering around, hmm?” Harry said, a bit of a nasty edge in his voice.

Hermione opened her mouth to retort but Ron beat her to it.

“C’mon mate.”

“Sorry.” Harry waved one hand perfunctorily and rubbed the other over his eyes.

“Well, let’s try, then.” Hermione said.

All three of the men stared at her, blinking.

“Uh, that was… I mean… that’s what we were planning.” Ron stuttered.

“Oh.” She, Harry and Ron shared a nervous smile. Then Harry pulled a piece of chalk out of his pocket and began drawing on the floor. Dumbledore walked over to one of the blank walls and waved his wand. A crack appeared which Dumbledore pulled on. He removed four, tall candle holders, each with a different colored, fat candle in it.

Most spells, most magic in the modern wizarding world, didn’t need this much hoopla. It was a nod to the old days of magic. Candles, circles, herbs… much like a wand, they were a way to enhance concentration and access to magic. Given the unpredictable and dangerous aspects of what they were about to do, a protective circle to enhance concentration seemed wise.

“Mr. Weasley, please be South.” He handed Ron the golden candle and holder. “And take Mr. Potter’s with you as well. He shall be North.” He pointed to the black candle. Hermione felt a small flicker of surprise. North was a leadership position, a guardian dedicated to protection. In their extra-curricular practices, Dumbledore had always been North.

“Ms. Granger, please be East.” That was expected. East was a position of intellect and air and she was well suited to it.

Hermione stepped forward, grasping the plain candle holder with its green candle in both her hands. She walked to the center of the room. Dumbledore, with his blue candle, followed her. Harry had drawn a circle with a four-pointed star around it. The two shapes sat, one on top of the other. The ring sat, small and plain, in the center of both… waiting.

The four of them stood, facing the center. Each candle stood at a point of the star. Ron began, lighting the candle in front of him with his finger. He stared at the flame, breathing slowly, then he stepped around it and stood where the star met the circle on his side. His gaze fell to the ring in front of him.

Hermione lit her candle and stared at… let the flickering flicking flames… bring her to center. She too stepped around her candle; her focus now became the ring. She could feel the wrongness of it reach out for her.

She did not look up to watch Harry and Dumbledore join the circle. She just knew they were there. Their wands rose in one motion. Power poured out, met and swirled, slamming down onto the ring. The air around it began to shimmer.

The resistance she met from the ring shocked her. Within minutes, beads of sweat rolled down her face and fine tremble began in the muscles of arms and chest. The tremble spread and intensified… with it came a burning sensation. She gritted her teeth and did not let up… the pain spread and the muscles in her legs spasmed. She dropped to one knee and would not yield. The tips of her fingers, wrapped around her wand, began to blister.

She rolled out of the circle, dropping her wand. She sobbed as she curled her body protectively around her wand arm. Looking over, she saw Ron in a similar position. As one, they turned to look back at the circle.

The power she intellectually knew both Harry and Dumbledore possessed flared under their skin. Neither had moved, their wands still pointed at the ring, but the power pouring from them had actually increased. Hermione could almost see it moving underneath their skin, flowing, circling, pulsing.

“I won’t.” Harry ground out through locked teeth.

“You must.” Dumbledore replied.

Now, Hermione could see Harry’s muscles trembling as hers had. With an anguished cry, he fell from the circle. The tips of his fingers were blackened and blistered.

Dumbledore’s power hammered down on the ring. His wand didn’t waver as smoke curled up from his fingers and the smell of burning flesh spread through the room. Hermione tried not to gag. Dumbledore bared his teeth, veins and tendons standing up from his neck, as the burn spread.

“Harry, we have to help him.” Ron croaked, struggling to his knees.

“We can’t. We can’t.” Harry was already on his knees, his eyes brimming with tears.

“But Harry!” Ron cried. Dumbledore’s hand was entirely destroyed, the flesh blacked and twisted down to the bone.

“We can’t! He chose, Ron. He chose!” Harry’s lips trembled as he spoke but the tears in his eyes did not spill over.

The burned had crawled halfway up Dumbledore’s forearm and the stench was unspeakable. Finally, the ring cracked in two with a tiny, insignificant hiss.

Dumbledore collapsed. Harry scrambled forward and check his pulse.

“He’s still alive. We need to get him to St. Mungo’s.”

“Harry, we can’t take him to St. Mungo’s.” Hermione said quietly.

“What? Why!?” Harry’s tears finally spilled over and ran down his face in messy rivulets.

“What are we going to say… er, well, we were just destroying a piece of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s soul with our ex-Headmaster and it got a little out of hand?” Hermione’s voice had risen to a shriek and she forced it back down to a normal octave. “We need to get McGonagall. She’ll know what to say and where to take him.”

Harry nodded. “You’re right. Okay, okay.” He motioned Ron and Hermione closer. They all took hands again, Hermione grasping Harry’s sweaty hand and Dumbeldore’s clammy one. With a jerk, she found herself back in the Headmaster’s office.

Ron scrambled to his feet and ran to the fire. He tossed a handful of Floo Powder into it, shoved his head inside, screaming “Emergency! McGonagall!”

Hermione didn’t let go of Harry or Dumbledore. Not that she could have let go of Harry if she had wanted too. He had a white knuckled grip on her hand. With his other hand, he reached down and pulled a small, hanging crystal from Dumbledore’s belt. It was the portkey to the room they had just been in. Hermione frowned at Harry who just shook his head and pleaded with his eyes. Hermione looked away.

With a burst of ash, McGonagall came through the Floo Network.

“Albus!” She cried. “What on earth you have you four been up to!?” She demanded as she knelt beside Dumbledore. She hadn’t brushed the floo powder from her robes and it was the messiest Hermione had ever seen her professor.

“That’s up to the Headmaster to tell you, Professor.” Harry said.

“Harry James Potter, you tell me this instant!” She demanded.

Harry just pressed his lips together and looked at her. Minerva tsked loudly and gathered up Dumbledore. With a pop, she disappeared.

Harry stood, brushing ash off of his hands. “C’mon, we need to talk.”

They returned to round, stone room and Harry walked into the center for the circle and picked up the ring. He set it back down on the table. It looked dull and lifeless, the black stone cracked down the middle. The locket glittered strangely next to the now empty ring and diary.

“We are constantly playing catch-up and I have had it.” Harry said as he set the ring down.

“Tell me about it.” Ron said as he started hauling the candleholders back to storage.

“Voldemort got an auror to turn.” Hermione said, kneeling down and clearing the chalk off the ground. She looked up to find both boys staring at her.

“Bloody hell!” Ron exclaimed.

“How do you know that?” Harry asked.

“Ask me no questions and I shall tell you no lies.” Hermione replied.

Harry pulled a nasty face at her but didn’t repeat the question.

“No wonder it feels like Voldemort has beaten us to the punch every time.” Ron sighed.

The room was now returned to its original state.

“Hermione, you’re going to be doing a lot of traveling and research. While you’re doing that, see if you can find a way for us to destroy these things without such a cost to ourselves. Dumbledore said he exhausted the Hogwart’s library and couldn’t find any reference to it. There has to be some way to destroy the horcruxes. There has to be.” Harry said, coming to stand in front of her.

“What about you and Ron?” Hermione asked.

“Ron and I are going to find the rest of these horcruxes and while we’re at it, we’re going to see what we can do about putting a world of hurt on old Moldypants.” Harry smiled, a baring of lips over teeth that had nothing to do with happiness.