Grindelwald's Burden (Books 1-7)

145. The Forest Again

"Where is Harry?" Y/n asked looking around.

"Huh?" Ron said and looked behind them. "But he was just here a minute ago..."

"Bloody fool..." Y/n said as he quickly shot a look at Hermione and she made her excuses to leave the others and join him and Ron.

"Mum, I'm going to help some of the others." They heard Ginny say as she passed them all now.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked in a whisper reaching Y/n and Ron.

"Harry has gone missing." Ron told her as his head quickly looked around hoping to spot him.

"No! You don't think he would have gone down to the forest do you?" Hermione asked.

"He has let Voldemort get into his head with the talk of using others as a shield." Y/n said annoyed.

"Then we got to go before it's too late!" Ron said.

"No you two will stay here." Y/n told him and Hermione.

"What?" Hermione asked him.

"We've got to stop him Y/n." Ron said.

"I know Ron, But we do not have the cloak and to leave the castle without a form of cover is to walk with a target on your back. In these times even a disillusionment charm might not be enough to fool talented enough eyes." Y/n said.

"So what do we do then? We can't just let him hand himself over mate!" Ron stressed.

"No we cannot." Y/n shook his head in agreement. "Which is why I will head to the forest edge to see if it is not too late."

"But Y/n how are you going to do that if we can't even use disillusionment charms?" Hermione asked him.

"You forget. I am an Animagus." Y/n told her. "A cat running away from the battleground and noise should not raise too much attention or look out of the ordinary."

"But that's incredibly risky!" Hermione argued.

"Yes, but it is better than us all going. Besides we could be wrong, Harry might not have left for the forest. He might simply not have been able to handle staying in this room." Y/n reasoned with her.

"But that's..." Hermione stopped herself seeing his point.

"I suppose." Ron shrugged. "So what do we do then if Harry comes back or we find him in the castle?"

"Send out a Patronus to let me know. I will recognize both of yours straight away and head back to the castle in such a case." Y/n suggested.

"Alright, But then you send us one if you find Harry." Ron said back.

Y/n just nodded in agreement. "Both of you cover me so I can change without others noticing."

Both Hermione and Ron moved around him as Y/n crouched down and began to change into his cat form.

"Just be quick and stay safe Y/n." Hermione told the cat with a wand in its mouth.

It nodded and quickly set off from the great hall.

Finally, the truth. Lying with his face pressed into the dusty carpet of the office where he had once thought he was learning the secrets of victory, Harry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death's welcoming arms. Along the way, he was to dispose of Voldemort's remaining links to life, so that when at last he flung himself across Voldemort's path, and did not raise a wand to defend himself, the end would be clean, and the job that ought to have been done in Godric's Hollow would be finished. Neither would live, neither could survive.