The Last Horcrux

The Snake Charmer's Tent

Gavin got the hang of driving the car fairly quickly. Right pedal slow down, left pedal go faster, use the lever to control the elevation. It wasn't that hard. Dandylion directed him where to go, and Biscuit happily stuck his nose out the window, every muscle in his body quivering with excitement.

Landing in the alley behind Spinner's End was a little trickier. Gavin descended too quickly and brought the car to a skidding halt, knocking over a rubbish bin with a loud clatter.

He decided to leave the car parked in the alley. They went in by the back gate, through the muddy yard, treacherous with melting patches of ice, and into the kitchen. The house, normally buzzing with activity, was dead quiet. It was eerie. Gavin had never been alone at Spinner's End before.

They crept up to the third floor, where Oakley and Gavin slept. Seeing Oakley's bed, with its Marvin the Mad Muggle comforter and his stuffed broomstick waiting for him to come home caused a funny lump in Gavin's throat. He swallowed it down impatiently.

"The sock drawer," Dandylion coached him. "Towards the back."

Gavin opened Oakley's sock drawer. It smelled like him and the lump rose in his throat again. Gav plunged his hand into the messy jumble of socks and underwear. It only took a minute of groping before his hand closed around a smooth glass vial. He pulled it out and stared at it. Inside was an old fingernail, yellow with age, with a bit of dried blood crusted on one end. Gavin felt a shiver down his spine.

"Eww," he said. "This thing is really important?"

Dandylion nodded solemnly. "It belonged to the Dark Lord. It's got part of his soul in it, it has."

Gavin shook the vial and peered at the dirty nail inside. "I can believe that," he said. He felt a cold chill coming off the thing, a whisper of evil. "What do we do now?" he asked Dandylion.

"You'd best get out of here," he said. "They know about it, see. And they want it. So you wanna leave before they get here."

This made sense to Gavin. Clutching the vial in his hand he headed for the stairs.

********

Dudley rode his broom to Spinner's End. What else could he do? He could have gone directly to the circus, but he was a little unclear about where Hogwarts even was. He had always gone there with Draco, who knew the way. He hadn't paid much attention to how they had gotten there.

He flew through the cold night air. The clouds were thickening overhead, hiding the moon, which lit them up with a milky glow. He landed in the alley behind Spinner's End. The Ford Anglia was parked at a crooked angle outside the back gate, one wheel up on the curb. That was strange - they usually parked it in the shed in the yard. A rubbish bin had been knocked over and trash was blowing around in the street. But the house was dark, deserted. They must have already left for the meeting at Grimmauld Place.

Dudley sighed, unsure what to do next. He supposed he could go on to Grimmauld Place, but that would just be another delay.

Then the back gate opened, unexpectedly. Gavin, with Biscuit at his heels, came out and headed for the car. A tiny man rode on his shoulder. He must be a garden gnome, Dudley thought.

"Hey Gav," Dudley cried out.

Gavin looked up and waved. "Hi Dudley!" he said. Dudley had a funny feeling. Something was wrong. Gavin shouldn't be here, alone in a dark house, especially if something had happened to Oakley.

Suddenly, a brown rat scuttled out from behind the overturned rubbish bin. He stood in the middle of the alleyway and transformed into a man. A smallish man, stooped, with a sharp face and rodent-like, beady eyes. One of his hands was made of silver. He raised his wand and pointed it directly at Gavin.