Harry Potter and the Horcruxes by hpboy13

“Cissy, no!  Come back!  Don’t go!”  Bellatrix cried as she chased after her sister.

“No!  That was my only son!  MY ONLY SON!!!” Narcissa Malfoy screamed.  It was Narcissa Malfoy, but few people could tell it was her.  Her normally calm face was tear-streaked and contorted with grief and rage.

“I admit the Dark Lord may have been mistaken in murdering Draco, but what’s done is done.  There’s no turning back now, there’s nothing that can be done for Draco.”  Bellatrix was trying very hard to soothe her agitated sister, but to no avail.

“How typical of you!” Narcissa yelled, her rage growing stronger.  “You never cared about family!  You don’t care that your only nephew in the world was just killed!  You wouldn’t care if the Dark Lord killed Rodolphus, because you’re a maniac who thinks that the Dark Lord is a god who must be revered despite anything!”  Bellatrix showed signs of wanting to interrupt, but Narcissa didn’t let her.  “You killed your own cousin a year ago!  You injured your only niece at the same time!  You probably wouldn’t even give a damn if the Dark Lord killed me!”  At this she had obviously struck a nerve, but she continued.  “And something can be done for Draco: he can be avenged!  And I plan to do it!”

With that, Narcissa Malfoy stormed out the door, slamming it in her sister’s shocked face.

~*~*~

“MORE RUDDY OWLS!” Uncle Vernon yelled.  Harry and Aunt Petunia exchanged exasperated glances.  They had gotten used to Uncle Vernon’s reactions.

A handsome tawny owl whooshed in through the window carrying the Daily Prophet.  Harry gave it a Knut and it flew away.  Harry scanned the pages and groaned.  “Oh great,” he said, “Another death.”

“Who?” Aunt Petunia asked, peering over his shoulder.

Harry replied, “Madam Edgecombe.  She regulated the Floo Network (that’s travel by fire).  That’s probably why she was killed, so they could travel by fire undetected.  There’s no other reason, because if she’s anything like her daughter, she’s as much of a” (here he said a swearword, but Aunt Petunia chose to overlook it) “as any of them.  Let’s see…’suspects are Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange’…honestly, the only people worse than the Lestranges are Snape and Voldemort himself…and probably Umbridge…”

Then, at that moment, another owl swooped in.

“MORE RUDDY OWLS!?!” Uncle Vernon yelled in fury.

Harry took the note from the owl and read it aloud:

Harry,

We’re all going to Grimmauld Place to search through Regulus’s stuff.  Since he was a Death Eater, there may be some clues about the Horcruxes.  Some people will pick you up at 6 o’clock.

Sincerely,

P.S. Ginny refuses to accept your decision to break up with her for her own safety.  You’re gonna be her boyfriend, and you don’t have a choice in the matter!

~*~*~

At 6 o’clock Harry and the Dursleys were in the living room, waiting for the Weasleys.  This time, Uncle Vernon unblocked the fireplace.  Emerald flames sprang up, and out stepped Mr. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Lupin, and Tonks.  Lupin and Tonks looked a lot better than the last time Harry had seen them.  Lupin looked a lot younger, and Tonks, with waist-length bubblegum-pink hair, looked like her old cheerful self again.

“Wotcher, Harry!” Tonks said as Harry saw a cloud of brown rushing at him and then felt the air being squeezed out of him.

“Oh, Harry,” Hermione started, “I’ve been so worried…what with…you know…Dumbledore’s death…and you being all alone…and now you have to destroy the Horcruxes…and they could be anywhere…and then you’ll have to battle Voldemort…and Hogwarts might not have even been reopened—“

Ron tapped her on the shoulder and said, “Uh, Hermione,” he said, “You might want to let go while Harry still has some air left in him.”  Hermione listened to his advice.

“Hello, Petunia,” Remus said.

“Hello, Remus,” Aunt Petunia said.  Neither of them seemed to notice that everyone in the room was giving them inquisitive looks.

“Thank god we can do magic outside of school now,” said Ron.  Hermione nodded.

“I can’t wait until I’m able to,” Harry said fervently.

Mr. Weasley said, “Well, Remus and I will get your trunk, and Tonks can get Hedwig’s cage.”

“I’ll stay in touch.  I know I made your life a living hell, but do try to send me letters now and then.  Good-bye, Harry,” said Aunt Petunia.  And off they all went.

When they arrived in Grimmauld Place, Harry noticed that the place looked slightly better than last time.  Sirius’s mother wasn’t shrieking (when Harry enquired why, he was told that the Order had performed a Mass Silencing Charm on her), and the place was a lot cleaner.

Harry was getting settled in (after he had spent 15 minutes being fussed over by Mrs. Weasley, who claimed he was too skinny (Harry had wondered why she wasn’t fussing over Fleur)), when he was confronted by Ginny.

Ginny said in a cool voice, “It’s good to have you back, Harry.”

Harry replied, “It’s good to be back.”

Ginny said, in a flirtatious voice, “You know, I think we could get Hermione to switch rooms with you.  I’m sure she wouldn’t mind being in Ron’s room for the rest of the summer.”

Harry, trying to ignore his rapidly beating heart, answered, “No, Ginny.  Your mom wouldn’t let us.  And anyway, I told you in June that you can’t be my girlfriend.  It would be putting you in danger.”

Ginny was obviously trying very hard to stay patient when she spoke.  “What if I’m willing to risk it?”

“No.”

“What if I don’t give you a choice?”

“No.”

Then Ginny exploded.  Downstairs, once they heard yelling, Fred and George whipped out their Extendable Ears, and everyone crowded around.  They could hear Ginny screaming at the top of her lungs.  “Stop playing the idiotic hero!  Do you think I’ll be in any less danger otherwise!?  As long as you still love me (and I know you do), it won’t make a difference if I’m your girlfriend or not!  If I’m going to die, I want to die fighting by your side, not worrying about you at home!  I don’t care about the stupid prophecy! Yes, I know about the prophecy, Ron and Hermione told me, and don’t you dare give them a hard time—“

“I wish Ginny wouldn’t bring me into this,” muttered Ron.

Ginny continued, “Because they only told me so I wouldn’t think you’re the biggest idiot in the world (and I still think you are and they agree)!  You are being totally stupid, and I’m not asking you anymore, I’m telling you: You’re going to stop acting like an idiot and I’m going to be your girlfriend and we’ll fight Voldemort side-by-side!”

Fred and George put away the Extendable Ears.  “Well, we all know what’s going to happen now,” Fred said.

“Right,” George said, “If Harry’s smart, he’ll concede now.  If he’s dumb, he’ll try to argue, she’ll scream some more, and then he’ll concede.”

Upstairs, Ginny had stopped to catch her breath.  She was glaring at Harry, who was desperately avoiding her eyes.  Harry knew she was right, and he also knew he’d never be happy unless he did what she said.

Suddenly, Ginny caught Harry in a kiss.  He resisted for a second or two, then leaned deeper into it.  He put his arms around her.  She started unbuttoning his shirt.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.  Both of them rushed downstairs, Harry with his shirt unbuttoned.  Lupin answered the door, and Harry heard him say in a shocked voice, “Narcissa?!”  Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged looks that said quite plainly, “Narcissa Malfoy!?!?”

It was indeed Narcissa Malfoy, but she was barely recognizable.  Her face was tear-streaked.  Her clothes were dirty, and she was sobbing uncontrollably.  Lupin led her inside, sat her down on a couch, gave her a handkerchief, and asked her patiently, “What’s the matter?”

Narcissa was sobbing so hard it was difficult for her to speak.  “I-I-It’s D-D-Draco!  H-H-He k-killed him!” she sobbed.

Lupin asked sharply, “Who?  Who killed Draco?”

Narcissa hiccupped.

Lupin said, “Voldemort?”

Narcissa nodded.  Then she suddenly sank to her knees in front of Lupin.  She sobbed, “P-p-please, you have to save Lucius!  The Dark Lord will kill him!  Say that you’ll protect him!  I’ll do anything!”

Lupin said patiently, “Now Narcissa, we’ll try to protect Lucius.  Meanwhile, you’ll need a place to stay.  Harry—“

Harry said, “Dumbledore would have let her stay.  So I will.”

Narcissa turned toward him.  “Oh, thank you, Harry!” she sobbed.  “It’s more than I deserve!…”