Him - A Harry Potter Love Story

Chapter Forty-Nine

"A horcrux...a horcrux is a very, very dark piece of magic. It is an object that you put part of your soul into."

I could feel Harry's grip on my hand tighten.

"So you could live forever?" Tom asked, tilting his head to the side, his dark eyes staring deeply into Slughorn's wary ones.

"...yes, technically speaking. You could live forever."

"And you can split it multiple times?"

"Yes," he said once again.

"What about seven times?"

"Good god, Tom! Could you really imagine splitting your soul apart once, let alone seven times?!" Slughorn exclaimed. When Tom didn't answer, he took a deep breath. "But...yes. I suppose you could."

Only minutes later, Dumbledore explained what we would be doing.

"No. Cassie won't come," Harry said without thought the moment Dumbledore finished speaking.

"What?" I snapped.

"Harry, I believe Cassie needs to come," Dumbledore said calmly. "I do not know what the Prophecy will bring for her, but I do know that she can't go blindly into this."

Harry let out a groan. "We're going out to destroy a part of Voldemort's soul. This can't be safe."

"It's not. But I'm coming with you, and I don't care what you say," I stated, crossing my arms.

"I'm not sure when we will need to go, but it will be soon," he told us. "It will be short notice. Keep your wands with you at all times. Don't tell anyone of this. And most importantly...don't leave each other's sides."

••••••••••

Harry and I, later that night, sat together on a couch in the Room of Requirement. I was tucked under his arm, my head on his chest, his face buried in my hair. His other arm was also wrapped around me, gently rubbing circles on my arm.

"I'm scared."

I could feel him tense up when I spoke.

"You shouldn't have to come with me. For anything."

"I'm not scared of going with you, Harry," I said softly. "I'm scared that this isn't what the Prophecy means. No one has ever purposely fulfilled one, they just...do."

He paused for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Trust me, Harry, I want to go with you, but..." I took a deep breath. "Dumbledore is forcing it. And I feel that he's wise enough to know that this isn't how Prophecies work."

"You don't think Dumbledore is..." he trailed off. I knew that neither of us knew what this meant.

"I don't know," I said quietly. "I just hope that whatever he's doing is right."

••••••••••

We were called out of defense against the dark arts a week later.

We went to Dumbledore's office, our hands intertwined. I could feel my heart beating throughout my entire body. I was wrong with what I said to Harry; I was terrified to come along and do this with him.

But if he was there, then I would be too.

"You have your wands, yes?" Dumbledore asked as we walked in. He was by the open doors to the balcony in his office, facing away from us.

"Yes," Harry responded.

"Good. Now, before we go, let me confirm one thing." He finally turned his head, his eyes studying us warily. "You will do exactly as I say, no matter how against it you may be."