Sophia Holmes and the Search for Horcruxes (Harry Potter Fanfic) *Completed*

Chapter Twenty Two

As the dragon - which I have decided to name 'Smaug' after the stories dad used to read me - levels out and soars over London, I bathe in the cool breeze easing the pain of my blistered skin.

"That was brilliant!" Ron bellows happily before looking down and turning green. "Bloody hell."

Not only does Grimmauld Place - an invisible house - exist in London, but apparently the hub of all wizarding activity is just off Oxford Street. Maybe I don't know London as well as I thought I did. What else don't I know?

The sun drops as we head north and fly over unrecognisable towns and cities before we come to more rural areas. I wonder if we can be seen from below. Perhaps that's what the flying car thing was all about a few years ago - that was probably a sighting of wizard transportation. Which makes the theories of U.F.Os slightly more believable: it's just Muggles catching glimpses of the wizarding world.

I'm stirred from my thoughts as I slide forwards and I realise Smaug is heading down.

"We're dropping!" I cry as he begins to circle lower and lower. A lake lies below and it might be he's just dipping down for a drink, but if he wants a bath then we're in trouble.

"I say we jump!" Ron says, clearly thinking the same as me.

"When?" Hermione shouts back.

"NOW!" Harry cries. I take a deep breath and let go, allowing myself to fall feet first towards the water.

Heights have never been my thing but now all I can see as I fall is dad's coat flapping as he falls from the roof of Bart's.

The cold water stings against my burns as I land but I drag myself upwards towards the surface of the water and pull in a deep breath. Harry bobs up beside me a moment later and I watch as Smaug swoops down, slurp up some water and flies on. Seconds later, Ron and Hermione break the surface.

Once we're all up, we wade over to the shore and scramble to get out.

"He knows," Harry says, shivering and pulling off his wet shirt. I look up ay him in suprise. Did he have another vision as we were falling? "You-Know-Who," he pants. "He knows we broke into Gringotts. He knows what we took. He knows we're hunting Horcruxes."

"How is it you -"

"I saw him," Harry says, interrupting Hermione.

"You let him in!" she reminds him. "Harry, you can't -"

"I can't always help it, Hermione!" He frowns, pulling on the t-shirt Hermione throws at him while I try to discretely change from my dress. "Maybe I can. I don't know."

"Never mind that!" I press. "What did you see?"

"He's angry," Harry answers. "But he's scared too. He's going to make sure the other Horcruxes are safe."

"What happens when he finds out four are gone?"

"I reckon he'll do anything to stop us from finding the rest. There's more: one of them's at Hogwarts."

"The diadem?" I ask, feeling hopeful.

"I think so," he nods. "I saw the castle. And Rowena Ravenclaw. We have to go there, now."

"Especially now he's onto us," I agree, wrapping my long wool coat around me welcomingly.

"Tonight?" Hermione asks, stopping us in our tracks. "But we have to plan. We have to figure out what -"

"Honestly, Hermione, when have any of our plans actually worked?" Harry asks and I smile in agreement. In just the short time I've known them, nothing we have done has gone according to plan. "We plan, we get there and all hell breaks loose."

"'Fraid he's right," Ron agrees. "One problem: Snape's Headmaster now. We can't just walk in the front door."

"What about me as well?" I ask. "There's a charm around it which stops Muggles stumbling across it."

"That shouldn't be too much of a problem," Hermione says. "You'll know it's there - you don't need to have magic to get in." I nod in understanding, slightly reassured.

"We'll go to Hogsmeade," Harry says.  "To Honeydukes. Take the secret passage in the cellar." He looks off, distracted. "There's something wrong with him. In the past, I could always follow his thoughts. Now everything feels disconnected."

"Maybe it's because of the Horcruxes," Ron suggests. "Maybe he's growing weaker. Maybe he's dying."

"No," Harry disagrees. "It's more like he's wounded. If anything, he feels more dangerous."