The Blood Traitor || Oc x Oc

The Forest

Sera's triumph was cut off short when she heard Hermione screaming frantically at Harry. She sat up, frowning, wondering what was wrong. Then, her eyes land on Ron, whose arm bled quite badly. It made her face turn pale. Hermione was frantically putting the Dittany on Ron's wounds, comforting him desperately as the wound began to close itself up. 

"What happened?!" she asked frantically as she crawled towards the duo. Ron was losing blood, and quite quickly, too. "I thought that we were going back to Grimmauld Place!" 

"We were," Hermione answered frantically. "But Yaxley got a hold on me. I knew that we couldn't stay once he had seen Grimmauld Place. So when we let go, I brought us here. But Ron, he — he got Splinched! Oh, Sera! Harry! I'm so sorry!" 

"Don't be stupid, Hermione," Sera interjected. "You got us to safety, and that's all that matters." 

The smoke furled in the air before evaporating. Ron's wound was no longer there. Sera was relieved when she saw the color returning to his face. He looked more relaxed, making Sera also relax. Hermione broke the relieved silence, shrugging. 

"It's all that I felt safe doing, y'know? If we were at Hogwarts with Madame Pomfrey, I know that she would have been able to fix his wound in a heartbeat." 

"How long should his recovery be?" Sera asked quietly. 

"A few days, at least. But for now, we need to lay low and take cover. I'm sure that all of our faces will be all over the Wizarding World. You, your brother, and Dante will be in even further danger than ever . . . ." 

Hermione got up and began to perform protection spells around their camping ground, making sure that their protection was a tenfold. That no one would be able to detect them unless they did something stupid. But Sera knew that they were smarter than that. 

"What are you doing?" Harry finally spoke. 

"Protection charms. I don't fancy another incident like we had at Shaftesbury Avenue, do you? Especially with Ron in this state. Can you get the tent for me, please?" 

Harry stared blankly at Hermione. "Tent? Where the bloody hell am I going to find a —" His eyes fell on Hermione's bag before his eyes flitted back to Hermione, who continued to put protection charms around their campground. "Sis, Dante? Can you both help me with this tent, please? It's difficult enough for one person to handle all this by themselves." 

Sera gladly gave in, eager to do something. 

Once they'd gotten the tent up, they settled in for the night. A aromatic smell wafted through the kitchen. Hermione broke the tense silence. 

"How are the mushrooms? Seems to be the only thing that's growing around here." 

Harry clearly grimaced as he continued chewing on the mushrooms. He tried to smile an appreciative smile in Hermione's direction in hopes to not hurt her feelings. 

"They're great." 

Hermione nodded, though she didn't seem entirely satisfied with his answer. "Be sure to leave some for Ron." 

Harry set his plate aside and held up the locket, which glinted in the dying fire. Sera glanced over at Ron in concern. He seemed to be dozing on and off, trying to sleep away any sort of pain that he might be in. 

"How bad is he?" she finally asked. 

"He'll be fine in a few days," Hermione answered casually. She automatically changed the subject in hopes to quit worrying about Ron. "Where do we go to from here?" 

"Dumbledore said that he had a theory," Harry answered at once. "He felt that the Horcruxes would not be made from random objects. And he felt that they wouldn't be hidden randomly, either. The ring, according to Dumbledore, belonged to Tom Riddle's grandfather. The diary, which put Dante in a trance for more than half of our second year, belonged to Tom himself. And then, which again, according to Dumbledore, belonged to his mother." 

Dante eyed the locket nervously. Sera didn't blame him. The Horcrux from several years ago had traumatized him. His fists were clenched on the table as he glared at it. 

"It scares me a bit, y'know?" he finally admitted, his body still stiff. "To think that there are more objects out there that could have a bit of Vol —"

"No!" said Ron at once. Everyone turned to face Ron as he began to weakly sit up, propping himself on his elbows. "The name's Tabooed. That's how they were able to find us at that cafe at Shaftesbury that night." 

Sera furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "How do you know that?" 

"Heard some Ministry bloke ranting on about it while I was trying to fix up Yaxley's office." His eyes suddenly lit up. "Blimey! What's that smell?" 

Hermione no longer looked confident. "Dinner?" 

Ron rolled his eyes as he joined the rest of his friends at the table. "Not bloody likely it isn't. It smells like something that either Ginny or Sera would make at the Burrow." 

Hermione paused. 

"Tea?" 

Ron nodded, grimacing slightly as he sat down, trying to ease himself with his one good arm. He suddenly looked horrified at his remarks about Hermione's poor attempt to cook dinner. He then turned his attention to the locket that sat on the table. A faint ticking noise could be heard from the depths of the locket. 

"Is that it?" Ron finally asked. 

Harry nodded and picked it up. He handed it to Ron, who took it. He turned it over in his hands, frowning. He frowned before turning to his best friend, who nodded. Ron looked surprised by what he had been feeling. 

"I know. I've felt it, too. So have Sera, Dante, and Hermione." 

"It's like it's got some sort of ticking noise. Like it's got a metal ticking," Sera shuddered at the thought she had just discovered. "Like it's got a heartbeat or something like that. It feel as though the locket is —" 

"Alive?" Ron finished for her. 

"Exactly," Sera breathed in return. 

"That's weird," said Dante as he frowned, staring at the locket with hard, cold, blue eyes. Everyone turned to face him. "I didn't feel anything of the sort when I had Tom Riddle's diary in my second year." 

"Maybe it's different for each Horcrux," Sera suggested, shrugging. 

"I hate it," Hermione declared in a seething voice. She glared at the green necklace in disgust. "It's like he's here with us. Maybe not physically. But it's still unsettling to think about." 

Harry nodded, looking determined. 

"I know. And that's why we're going to try and destroy it."