Nights of Gethsemane

"I have to face him alone." Harry raised his hand to stop Ron and Hermione from interrupting and added, "He thinks I'm broken and I want to maintain that illusion. Don't worry, I'll be safe and I need you two to help me in another way. He'll put me through a ceremony, thinking that he's going to remove my soul and possess my body. It won't work. While he's occupied with the ceremony you'll storm Hogwarts and any other place the Death Eaters have infiltrated."

"What about Nagini?" asked Hermione, her brows drawing together with concern.

"Snape suggested that we leave her for last and I want you two to focus on her and any other Horcruxes. If the Dark Lord-" Hermione and Ron exchanged tight glances and Harry pretended not to see. "-does have another Horcrux, he'll flee to that instead of her."

Hermione frowned. "Why would he flee to a Horcrux?"

"Snape says that there's no chance he can revive himself using the old method, so he'll probably go to another Horcrux and try to guard it."

Hermione's frown deepened. "Why? What's to stop him from just going around as a spirit? Don't all the Horcruxes need to be destroyed before he, himself, can be destroyed?"

Harry didn't know. Now that she pointed it out, wasn't that true as well? Wasn't that what Dumbledore had told him? He couldn't argue for Snape's plan when it made no sense at all. "If you think it's better that Nagini is destroyed first, then we'll need to find her first. He was carrying her with him, but I don't know if he'll still do that now that I'm out and about."

"And why shouldn't we go with you?" asked Ron.

"I don't want you near the ceremony."

Both Ron and Hermione asked, "Why?"

"Because, if I fail, you need to be able to not only try to finish what I started, but also to keep the resistance going. Others need to know how to destroy the Horcruxes in case I can't do it."

"Leave that for someone else!" said Ron, the muscles in his jaw clenching. "I'm fighting with you!"

"We'll do it," said Hermione.

"What?!" Ron whipped his head around to stare at Hermione.

Hermione met his gaze with one raised brow. "We'll talk about it later," she said, then turned back to Harry. "Now, tell us how you plan to break into the Chamber of Secrets."

Harry couldn't help but grin. Trust Hermione to take charge of the matter and get straight to business. "You have my Invisibility Cloak, right?"

She nodded. "We never left it out of our sight, just like you asked."

He didn't remember asking that, but assumed that Snape had asked for him. "I'll hide under it and sneak-"

"We'll help you," she offered. "Ron, where's the map?"

Ron reached into his robes and produced a long scroll which he spread out across the table. "Hogwarts," he announced with a grin. "Took us about two months to complete. It's better than the Marauder’s Map. Even Remus agrees."

Hermione explained, "It has too much magic to fold up into a spare bit of parchment, so we can't hide it and have built self-destruct spells into it that we can activate should it ever fall into the wrong hands. Instead of taking it with us, we leave it here, and when people return from their explorations, they make notes."

"The castle is always changing," said Ron. "There is a room here-" He tapped a hallway with his wand. "-that only appears on full moons. Do you want to see where Ginny is?"

When Harry nodded, Ron said "Ginny Weasley" to the map and the sharp lines that delineated the walls and staircases melted into each other, re-shaping and forming into new rooms designating a different part of the castle. There, in the centre of the map, the words 'Ginny Weasley' appeared, in a room with some other names Harry vaguely recognised as Hogwarts students.

"She's in the Room of Requirement," said Hermione. "That's our headquarters in Hogwarts. Ordinarily, we'd send someone to the library to find books and copy them there, but the security in the castle has increased - probably because of your escape - and they've not been able to venture out.

"When Professor Lupin said that he couldn't recreate the Marauder’s Map on his own in one go just from his memory, we decided to review all the books that the Marauders checked out to try to find out how to make one of our own. As I was reading them, I realised that our knowledge in some areas was rather lacking and I've been working to rectify that. The books here-" She waved around the walls covered in bookshelves. "-are exact copies of the Hogwarts books. A few of them we've had to copy by hand, but most we've managed to reproduce through spells."

"Sometimes I feel like I'm dating an encyclopaedia," said Ron, which earned him a half-hearted glare from Hermione.

"Anyway," said Hermione. "The Chamber of Secrets is here." She waved her hand over the map and the Chamber swam into view. "Death Eaters patrol the hallways. You can see them moving now." She pointed to two names on the map that Harry didn't recognise. "They're normally pretty predictable in the paths they walk, but lately they've been all over the place. We'll have to use the mirrors."

"The mirrors?"

Ron pulled a small, circular mirror out of his robes. "The map wasn't the only thing the Marauders had that we reproduced," he said with a grin. "This is how we can use the map to sneak around Hogwarts while keeping the map safe here."

"Wait," said Harry. "Snape said that if they get one mirror, they can find the other."

"We know," said Hermione grimly. "That's why we only made two. If one of us should get captured, the other knows exactly what to do." She removed the counterpart to Ron's mirror from her own robes, as well as the shard of Sirius's mirror.

"I'll stay here," offered Ron as he conjured a stand to set the mirror on. "I know the map better than anyone."

"I'll go with you," Hermione told Harry firmly and he knew from experience he wouldn't be able to persuade her otherwise. "We'll get a Portkey from Aberforth and go to his Inn. From there, we can enter Hogwarts through the portrait." With her attention turned to the broken mirror, she said, "Time to wake up!"

A familiar blue eye came into view. "Not this again," said the voice Harry vaguely recognised as belonging to Aberforth.

"We've got Harry!" she announced, turning the mirror so the blue eye could look at Harry.

Unsure of what else to do, Harry said, "Hullo."

Aberforth smiled and said, "Hullo, Harry. I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"I've wondered about it myself," said Harry.

"We'll need a Portkey," said Hermione. "Harry needs to come to Hogwarts."

"There will be one waiting for you at the regular place."

"Thank you!" She put the mirror back in her robes. "We have a short amount of time before the Portkey deactivates." Spinning on her heel, she marched to the door and Harry had to run to keep up with her. After she’d led him outside the building, there were just a few jumps of Apparition before they found a broken flowerpot by the side of the road. The Portkey took them to the interior of the Inn, where Aberforth awaited them.

"The Death Eaters are swarming outside," said Aberforth. "I reckon they're expecting you."

"I believe so," said Harry. There was so much he wanted to ask Aberforth about Dumbledore, but he just didn't have the time. Who knew how long it would be before Voldemort did something drastic to force his return? He gave Aberforth a small smile before ducking under the Cloak, which Hermione had pulled from her bag. Keeping close behind and crouching, Harry followed as Hermione greeted a girl in a portrait.

"Hullo, Ariana."

Even with the whirlwind of activity and thought surrounding him, Harry couldn't help but stop to give the girl another glance. "Dumbledore's sister?"

"Yes," said Hermione in a low voice. "I'll tell you all about it later." To Ariana she said, "I've come to see our home."

Ariana smiled and turned, walking away from Harry and Hermione down a long, dark hallway, eventually disappearing into blackness. Hermione intently watched the portrait, so Harry did too, until he saw Michael Corner striding towards them alongside Ariana. Closer and closer they walked, until the portrait swung open on the wall, revealing a real tunnel hidden behind the painting.

Jumping out, Michael exclaimed, "Have you heard the news? Harry's escaped!"

Quiet under the Cloak, Harry couldn't help but smile.

"I know," said Hermione and Harry could hear the excitement in her voice. "We'll be planning at the main headquarters tonight. Tell as many trustworthy people as you can. I've got to take care of a task here first, then I'll go." They climbed up onto the mantelpiece and stepped into the tunnel and Michael led her down a long passageway lined with smooth, worn stones. Brass lamps lit up the path and cast shadows about them as they walked. "Is Ginny still here?"

"Nope." Michael shook his head. "She left as soon as she heard the news. Have you seen him? Is he okay? I mean, if he escaped, he's probably okay, but-"

"I've seen him," she admitted. "He looks great."

"He's not-" Michael glanced at Hermione and grimaced. "-turned, is he? I know most of what the papers print is rubbish, but . . . he was locked up with Snape for weeks. And there are all those pictures...."

What could they have pictures of? Surely nothing more than the interview. That was the only time he remembered seeing cameras flash.

"He wants You-Know-Who dead even more than before," Hermione assured Michael. "He says Snape wants You-Know-Who dead as well."

Michael snorted. "And you believe that?"

"I believe that Snape wants what's best for himself. I don't trust him, and Harry says he doesn't fully trust him either, but Harry's alive, sane, and has solid plans to take care of You-Know-Who once and for all, so I think we can trust Harry. We'll just do our best to protect Harry from Snape."

Harry suspected that she wasn't only saying that for Michael's benefit.

They stepped into a large room that was an almost identical replica of the main room in the safe house. Books lined the wood-panelled walls, and were scattered over large tables also strewn with maps, scrolls, and a variety of magical devices. A huge wireless sat in the corner and Terry Boot in a chair beside it, copying down the broadcast onto a scroll. The Patil twins glanced up from where they were examining a scroll on one of the tables, while Anthony Goldstein closed the book in his hand.

"It's true!" shouted Michael. "Harry's escaped!"

Their cheers and whoops drew Hannah Abbott from behind one of the three closed doors. Dressed in pyjamas and sleepily rubbing her eyes, she emerged from a dorm room filled with hammocks.

"Harry's escaped!" Terry informed her and she grinned. "When do we fight?"

"We'll announce the details tonight," Hermione said. "I've got to go fetch a book. I'll see most of you tonight." They were too busy talking, making plans to spread the news, to pay much mind to her any longer and Harry slipped closer to her and gently touched her arm to let her know he was right behind her. Pulling the mirror out of her pocket and lifting it to her ear, she said, "We're ready," as a door appeared for her.

"Go!" hissed Ron through the mirror. "Turn right! Run down the hallway and take a left!"

Holding the mirror to her ear like a mobile, Hermione led Harry on twisting pathways through the castle. They ducked into empty classrooms, hid under the Invisibility Cloak, and had several close calls before they made their way to the bathroom.

Moaning Myrtle soared up out of a stall. Fearing their discovery, Harry put his finger to his lips and said in a whisper, "I'm here to destroy Tom - the boy who killed you."

"Oh good," she said. "I've been so lonely lately. You never come to visit me anymore."

"Who has come in here in the last four months?" asked Harry.

She grimaced. "A very ugly man came in here three months ago. I didn't like the look or sound of him, so I hid until he went away. After he came here, the Carrows started entering every time they did their rounds."

"Was the man who came in here three months ago missing a nose and had red eyes?"

"Yes!" Moaning Myrtle gave a theatrical shiver. "He was horrid!"

"What did he do?"

"I didn't stay around to find out!"

"What about Professor Snape?"

"I've not seen him in here since last year," she said. "Boys aren't supposed to be in this bathroom, but they come in all the time anyway." Gliding closer to him, she added in a coy voice, "I don't mind you here though."

Scooting a bit away from her, he said, "Thanks!" and started towards the entrance, only to feel a rod of magic in front of him. "Wait!" He threw out an arm, stopping Hermione in her tracks. "It's covered in detection wards!"

"Detection wards?" asked Hermione, her brow wrinkling.

"Thin wards that will alert him to our presence." Harry felt around the ward, trying to find the edges.

"I've never heard of those," she huffed and he couldn't tell if she was more annoyed by not being able to feel them, or that he knew something she didn't.

"Snape taught me how to detect them," he told her, using his magic to trace around them. They were crisscrossed all over the entrance to the Chamber. Not impossible to slip through - if he could fly. "If only we had a broom!"

"I do!" Hermione jangled a silver bracelet that encircled her right wrist. "Cambio broom!" A charm jumped off and transformed into a broom. "Fred and George have been busy as well. These brooms aren't the best - they can't go very fast and they fall apart after a while -, but they're perfect in an emergency." Mounting the broom, she motioned for him to get on in front of her. He chose to sit behind her so he could feel the wards with his hands while she steered.

Parseltongue opened the tunnel, and holding onto Hermione tightly, both of them pressed low to the broom, Harry guided her up and over the wards, showing her how to avoid triggering any of them. "I'm not sure I'm getting them all," he admitted. "I don't know if there are other types Snape never mentioned to me."

"Just do your best," she said, gripping the broom tightly as though it would escape from her any second. He'd forgotten how much she hated flying. Once they got past the first few feet, the way down was mostly free of detection wards, giving them a clear, quick passage to the bottom, but no sooner had they reached it than they found a wall of flames blocking the single entrance into the Chamber itself.

"This is a magical fire," said Hermione, examining the flames, "but I've never seen this particular type before."

"What does it look like?" asked Ron from the mirror.

Hermione turned the mirror around to give him a look. "Blue-green towards the top, but yellow throughout most of it. I also see specks of a deep purple that occasionally flair up. Do you know where the book on magical fire is kept?"

"I'm looking for it now," answered Ron.

Thinking back over what Tom had said, Harry asked, "Are there any fires that would force us to discard all our possessions?"

Hermione nodded. "Angha Fire would. Ron, when you find that book, look up Angha Fire. I've the potion necessary to walk through it, but we'd have to remove everything. No broom, wands, clothing - even a hair tie could kill us."

Impressed, Harry asked, "What made you think to carry that potion?"

Giving him a sidelong glance, Hermione answered briskly, "Well, Professor Snape set up a magical fire as a way to help guard the Philosopher’s Stone. He included that logic puzzle as a way to further guard it, but Ron and I figured that he'd pick a type of fire nearly impossible to get through in order to guard you. Brewing the potion needed to get through Angha Fire is nearly impossible and the only way we could acquire it was to steal it." Her lips twisted in a grimace and she probably already had plans to find a way to pay for the potion after the war ended.

Harry wished there was a way that he could convince them that Snape wasn't the monster they thought him to be. It would just have to come with time. Changing the subject, Harry, thinking of the potions buried in his arms, asked, "What about internal objects?"

Frowning, Hermione asked, "Internal objects? What do you mean?"

Harry pointed at his mouth. "I've got potions hidden in here."

She frowned, then said, "I don't believe those would be affected, otherwise, if either of us has even the slightest foreign substance inside our bodies, we wouldn't be able to pass through safely. As I understand it, the fire has to touch the object for it to be consumed in flames. As long as the object is completely contained inside you, there shouldn't be a problem. It's all theoretical though; I've never-"

"Got it!" shouted Ron through the mirror. "Yep, matches the description. Of course, hundreds of fires match that description. Are you sure it's Angha?"

Hermione glanced at Harry and Harry nodded. Even though he didn't trust Tom with his own life, he trusted that Tom wanted to live, which meant that he had to do his best to keep Harry's body alive.

"Yes," Hermione told Ron.

"Let's see...." said Ron. "You'll need to take a potion to be able to step through it-"

"Haoma potion?"

"Right," said Ron. "It says, 'Use extreme caution.'"

"Right," said Hermione, grimly staring at the wall of flames.

"There's no way around it," said Harry. "We'll have to undress."

"Oi!" Ron interjected from the mirror. "What's going on down there?"

Tensely, Hermione said, "We can't be wearing clothes when we go through the fire. We'll die if we do."

"Don't be looking at my girlfriend!" Ron yelled to Harry.

"Oh, Ron, honestly!" Hermione snapped, then set the mirror on the floor.

"I can't see you!" yelled Ron.

"That's the point!" she yelled back.

Turning away from her to undress, Harry slid out of the robe he had borrowed from Neville. It would be suicide to enter the Chamber without a wand. Gritting his teeth, Harry pointed his wand at his left arm and sliced it open from wrist to elbow. He shoved the wand into the wound, and grabbed the healing potion from his mouth. With shaking fingers, pain dulling his thoughts, he poured the healing potion into the wound, then held the ripped skin closed over the wand, forcing it to heal with the wand stuck inside. It hurt like hell, but he would not step one foot beyond that fire without a wand. "Put that bracelet in your mouth," he called back to Hermione. "Make sure that we carry that broom over with us."

"Good idea," she said. "Okay, I'm ready. We need to drink the potion now."

Harry turned to see her standing with her hands folded above her genitals. Too ease her discomfort, he said, "Remember, I'm mostly blind without my glasses."

"Right," she said, her voice abnormally high. She took a generous swig from a bottle, then walked over and pressed the bottle into his hand. He drank, doing his best to ignore the sour milk taste.

"We have half an hour," she informed him. "We have to cross back through the flames before that time is over."

"I'll go first," he offered, striding towards the flames. Sucking in a deep breath, he shoved his hand into the flames. Nothing happened. Now he would discover if internal objects burned. Taking a few steps back, he ran and rolled through the fire.

"I'm safe!" he yelled when he reached the other side unharmed.

Hermione dashed through, running several feet beyond Harry as if she couldn't believe she had passed through it.

Pointing his finger at his arm, Harry cast the cutting spell. Without a wand to guide it, the spell went wild, cutting diagonally instead of horizontally. "Fuck!"

"What's wrong?" asked Hermione.

Harry had to dig in his arm to find the tip of the wand and rip it out.

"Merlin, Harry!" she cried, hurrying over. "What've you done!"

"I need my wand." There was blood pouring out of him. Shit. He should've made sure to bring blood replenishing potions too.

Grabbing his arm, Hermione quickly cast healing spells. Harry tried not to stare at her breasts as she moved her hands up and down his arm. He'd never seen naked boobs before, much less big ones like hers. Snape would love them.

Forcing Snape's appreciation for large tits from his mind, Harry kept his gaze on Hermione's face. She looked at every part of his body except his penis.

He was so focused on her breasts and his naked penis that he forgot the healing potions buried under his skin until she was almost finished closing the skin. Pointing the wand at his upper arm, he cast "Alohomora!" The pill buried in his upper arm popped open. It felt like what he'd imagined it would feel like to get shot. Gritting his teeth, he tried to ignore the pain. The Healing Potion leaked out, easing the pain of both its opening and the wound from the wand. Soon, the wound in his arm stopped improving and he imagined the capsule containing the Healing Potion had been shut by his healing skin. Rather than open it again to let more potion seep out, he decided to save it for later.

"There," said Hermione triumphantly when she had finished sealing the cut. "When we get back to our robes, I'll give you a blood replenishing potion."

"Thanks," said Harry. "Let's go. Ron will be worried."

"Yes." She turned away from him and transfigured the broom. He tried not to stare at her breasts as she jumped on the broom, leaning forward on the stick of wood.

Positioning himself as carefully as he could behind Hermione, he originally tried not to touch any part of her naked body at all. That being impossible on the small broom, he had to settle for keeping his dick away from her arse. Putting his hands on her shoulders rather than around her waist, he directed her to fly as close to the ceiling as possible, feeling for wards as they went.

As they flew deeper and deeper into the Chamber, the water level rose and rose until there was only a few feet of space between the ceiling and the surface of the water. Bursting into the main chamber, they found a massive glowing sphere of deep red floating high above the water.

"That's it!" cried Harry.

"It's so . . . obvious," said Hermione.

"I know," chuckled Harry as he directed her to fly towards it. "He probably never expected anyone to get this far."

"Oh!" she cried when they got closer. "This is- It's-"

"It's what?"

"I'd never thought I'd see it," she said eagerly. "I've read all about them, but-"

"What is it?!"

"It's a blood ward! It's old - positively ancient - magic that can only be cast inside property controlled by a blood descendant of an ancient wizard family. Since this property was created by Salazar Slytherin to be used by his descendants, any blood descendant of his can claim ownership of it.

If he set this up, that means that-"

"My blood can open it as well."

She nodded. "Only you and he can open it. If he possessed a new body, he could no longer open it, unless he somehow found remains of another descendant of Slytherin. No wonder he wants to possess your body."

"Yeah," said Harry, even though he'd lied about that. Although he'd originally believed that he had been held captive while Snape researched a way to pull out his soul so that Voldemort could possess his body, he now suspected that Voldemort never intended to possess his body, and was simply researching a way to destroy him without destroying the Horcrux. That's what Voldemort intended to do in this upcoming ceremony. "But anyone could just Polyjuice into me-"

"No," she corrected as she angled the broom to hover directly above the ball. "It must be blood directly from you, just as house-elves can only be summoned by their masters. I can't go in at all. You'll have to drop down. Be careful in there, Harry. Only a blood descendant can pass through a blood ward - not even magic can get through - so I won't be able to help you once you're in there."

"I'll jump."

"Wait! I know what we'll do! We'll let you scope it out before you drop in." Hermione held out a hand. "Cut open your palm, then give me your wand."

He did as she suggested.

Hermione pointed the wand at Harry and said, "Levicorpus!" Harry was jerked up into the air.

"Mobilicorpus!" She lowered him towards the swirling globe.

Sticking his hand down, he pressed it against the hard, warm surface. A burst of shimmering light shot forth and the hardness melted away. Golden swirls spread from his hand out over the surface of the ball. As soon as his head dipped below the surface, he spotted a box resting on a white disk floating in the centre, about ten feet below him. The disk, almost twice his body length in diameter, appeared to be composed of marble. Landing on it while avoiding the box in the centre would be tricky. He'd have to fall straight down and somehow land towards one of the edges without falling off. Pulling his hand above the surface, he flicked it up, motioning for Hermione to lift him back up out of the ball.

Instead of lifting him, Hermione dropped him.

"SHIT!"

Curling into a ball, Harry managed to roll himself over, shifting his legs downward. He landed hard, pain shooting up his legs and nearly knocking him off the platform. Swearing and trying not to put weight on his damaged right ankle, Harry scrambled onto the floating disk to avoid slipping off the platform and falling through the sphere and into the water. Now fully on the platform, he crept to the centre where a wooden chest rested. This was it. This was where the Horcrux was hidden. Hobbling over to it, Harry ran through possible scenarios Voldemort would use to defend against him. All he knew was that it would be risky to try to touch the box. He knew nothing about poisons, much less antidotes. He barely knew any opening spells as it was.

He yelled for Hermione, but she didn't answer. She probably couldn't hear him beyond the magical protection of the sphere. He'd have to figure it out on his own.

Like most magical containers the chest had no lock - at least as far as he could tell. Trying every single opening spell except the dangerous ones, didn't work. He had to open that box, but he couldn't touch it, and he was absolutely rubbish at conjuring spells. There was nothing else he could do. Removing two ovals from his mouth - one containing the now quickly gulped Healing Potion, the other containing the potion that would save him - he pressed the capsules against either side of the lid and pushed it up. The Diadem glittered from where it lay perched upon folds of silk. Now to destroy it. But how? And with what? Fiendfyre should do the trick - only he didn't dare try to cast it without a wand. He couldn't pick it up or touch it, otherwise it might try to twist his mind. He needed the wand from Hermione, and that meant dropping down into the water.

Forcing himself to walk on his pained ankle, Harry hurried to the edge of the platform and sucked in a huge breath of air. He jumped off, falling through the sphere and landing in water so black, he almost didn't know which way was up. Kicking to the surface, he cleared the water and heard Hermione screaming something. Turning towards the direction her voice came from, his muddled brain finally made out her words.

"GRAB THE BROOM! GRAB THE BROOM!"

Throwing up a hand, he managed to catch it and she yanked him up out of the water, grabbing him by the arm as she flew straight at the ceiling. Something heavy and sharp slammed into his back, tearing through his skin and pulling him back towards the water. Holding tight to Hermione and the broom, Harry managed to rip himself away from whatever had struck him.

"THERE'S A MONSTER!" yelled Hermione as she soared to the highest rafter in the Chamber. "IT ALMOST KNOCKED ME OFF THE BROOM!"

Glancing back down, Harry caught a glimpse of long, spindly arms with short spikes just before the creature disappeared below the surface. Seemingly safe at the top of the Chamber, Harry pulled himself more firmly onto the broom and Hermione handed him the wand.

As soon as he grabbed it, he popped open all of the healing capsules inside of him. For a moment, he had to sit there, taking the pain of their combined openings before his healing skin closed them again. Thankfully, the pain soon faded, taking away with it much of the agony from his back as well as all of the hurt from his ankle. He'd known this wouldn't be easy, but he should've asked for more healing potions. He had no idea how many times he could pop them open before all of the liquid inside them leaked out, but he hoped he wasn't close to running out.

Panting, Hermione asked, "Did you destroy the Diadem?"

"Not yet," said Harry. "I'm going to take the wand and jump back in there. I'll cast Fiendfyre, then jump off the side."

"It's dangerous to-"

"I know, but I need that Diadem destroyed. Unless you know of a way to turn wood to glass so I can trap the fire inside the glass, then-"

"Oh! I know! Just cast Gyalium. But Harry, be careful. Fiendfyre isn't easy to confine. It can't escape past the blood ward, but it's fast."

"I'll be careful," he promised, guiding the broom over so they were perched above the globe again. "Now, dive down and drop me off. I'll be about . . . twenty seconds. At the end of those twenty seconds, be directly beneath the globe, ready to catch me. Got it?"

She made a small noise of despair deep in her throat, but nodded and clutched the broom tightly. "All right."

"Go!"

She dove straight for the ball. The water rippled beneath them, but Harry ignored it, focusing only on what was contained within that glowing sphere. As soon as he could, he jumped, cutting the bottom of his foot as he did so. He landed perfectly, just in the right position to flourish his wand and turn the box to glass. Using the capsules to gently open the lid that was now made of glass, he held the wand between his knees as he manoeuvred it until the tip of the wand was inside the box. Slowly, so as not to break the glass, he let the lid rest on the wand. Then he released the potion capsules to grab his wand. Waiting until enough seconds had passed, counting each one in his head, he then cast Fiendfyre, yanked out the wand, turned, and dashed across the platform. Escaped flames raced after him and, as he turned around as he jumped off, he saw that the entire platform was being swallowed whole by an inferno composed of living creatures of flame.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he cast on himself to slow his descent enough to catch Hermione as she flew by. He grabbed the broom at an angle and tried to pull himself upright, only to be nearly knocked off by a strong jerk of the broom.

"Steady!" he called to her.

"I'm not doing anything!" she yelled back. "The magic is fading!"

Soon their broom would be as useless as a Muggle one.

Hermione screamed as a spike-covered limb swung towards them. Hauling himself firmly onto the broom, Harry yelled, "Give me control!" She did and he swerved around the flailing limb. "Take the wand!" He thrust it into her hand. "Cast spells to stop it!"

She cast furiously, but never any Dark Magic spells, and all her attacks were weak compared to what a Death Eater could do.

"Cast Sectumsempra!" Harry yelled to her. She tried it and he heard a roar from behind them.

"IT'S ANGRY!" she screamed. "IT'S GAINING!"

Holding onto her and the broom as tightly as he could, Harry raced towards the exit. Water lapped beneath them. Hermione screamed in his ear. Limbs rose up out of the water before him. Yet Harry knew instinctively just how to move - just how he'd always been able to move on the Quidditch field. He put all distractions from his mind and focused on the exit. He would make it. They would be safe.

The water receded more and more as they flew and, after several minutes of flying, Hermione yelled, "It can't leave the water! We're safe!"

Soaring towards the wall of flames, Harry couldn't help but whoop. "The Dark Lord defeated by Quidditch skills!" If Snape could see him now! The broom tore to the side and Harry knew he had to be careful not to use it up before it lost all magic. Flying down to a safe landing spot, he hopped off the broom. Hermione grabbed him in a huge hug, crushing him tightly against her body.

"You're insane!" she said with a laugh that was half fear, half relief.

"Turn the broom back! We need to preserve the magic."

"Right." The broom disappeared into the jangle of charms and she suddenly stepped away from him as if he had turned into something slimey.

Puzzled as to what caused her sudden coldness, Harry glanced at her, only to realise they were both still very naked. Neither looking at the other, they re-hid the bracelet and the wand before they ran through the wall of flames, Hermione snatching up the mirror on the other side and carefully holding it so that Ron could only see her face. "It's finished!"

"Just in time!" said Ron. "No one's in the East Corridor at the moment."

"We'll be out shortly," she said, dropping the mirror and grabbing her clothes.

Harry tried not to look at her as he dressed. As he swung the Invisibility Cloak over his shoulders, he said, "Another Horcrux down." He'd take care of the last two tomorrow.