Chocolate Enchantment

Chapters 24: A Little Shopping and 25: Scenting the Truth

Chapter 24: A Little Shopping

After spending more than an hour hashing out details on the containment charms, and taking a few tries with Bill there to correct them if they did it wrong, Hermione felt confident they were ready to take on the Horcrux. She and Ron would work together to cast and hold up the containment shield as their combined effort would make the shield stronger and less likely to waver.

Over the past few days Harry had been practicing the spell needed to denature the locket, so now they only had to decide where to do it. Several locations had been considered and rejected from the Forbidden Forest near school grounds, to the Weasley paddock, to Stone Henge. It had to be somewhere they wouldn't be happened upon accidentally, it needed to be large enough to contain any possible backlash and . . . The list of requirements was so long the three of them hadn't been able to agree on a single location.

After Flooing back to Mrs. Figg's fireplace, the three of them headed back to the tent. "So now we just need to figure out where," Ron said.

"Any new ideas?" Hermione asked, mentally thumbing through the possibilities again.

"Maybe." Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair, but said nothing more.

Hermione eyed him up and down, waited for him to speak, then grew irritated when they reached the tent and he still hadn't said anything. "Where is it?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I haven't seen it, so I don't know if it will fit the bill or not, but I guess it's mine, so we could do as we pleased if it fits the criteria." He muttered under his breath, moving around the living room, running his fingers over the binding of the scrap book of his parents' pictures that Hagrid put together for Harry during his first year at Hogwarts. "It might not work at all—it depends."

"What is it?" Ron asked with a huff of irritation.

"We were going to go there anyway. It'll just be a matter of moving the time up a bit, and not all that much either. If not, we can always look at other places."

Though he was still speaking to himself, muttering in a barely understandable volume, Hermione thought she knew what he had in mind and appreciated the poetic justice. But as they had no idea what the place looked like, it would be best to take a look around before making any firm decisions. "Do you know where it is, what the boundaries are, or should we ask Remus to take us out?"

"Better get Remus to take us for a quick jaunt. Just a friendly visit, mind—to get some closure, take a look around. If we're going to do it there, we'll want to go back alone." Harry sat in an overstuffed chair and ran a finger over his scar. "And it might not be suitable at all. We'll have to see."

Ron looked back and forth between them as if waiting for one of them to clue him in. "Did I miss something? Where are you talking about?"

"Godric's Hollow." Harry stood and walked over to the ice box, pulled out a bottle of butterbeer and returned to his seat. "I guess we'll need to write to Remus and see if he's available."

"The full moon is past, so we should be able to get him to take us fairly soon." Hermione grabbed her own bottle of butterbeer and one for Ron, tossing it to him.

"The sooner the better, I say. It gives me the screaming abdabs just knowing Harry's carrying a bit of that ruddy git's soul in his pocket." Ron twisted off the cap and took a long draw from the bottle.

"Tell me about it." Harry sat up when Hermione brought him a parchment and quill to write to Remus with.

"Then get to it."

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It was the next morning before they received a written response from Remus. He didn't have time to spare before Bill and Fleur's wedding, but promised to take them out the day after. He set the time for one in the afternoon, and Harry was quick to write back that it would work great for them, even though all three would rather get it over before then.