The War | The Sister Book #4 | Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter Thirty-Five

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The icy water engulfs me and I sink, my lungs begging for air as a numb silence fills my ears, and my limbs begin to lose feeling. There is scratching, clawing in my head, louder than the water, screaming, calling-

I see a flash of green light, his snarl, a body falling to the ground

I try to swim upwards, but my body isn't moving how it should-

I see Dumbledore's ring. I see Voldemort again, another body-

My hands break the surface of the water, then my head, but I can't hear anything,

I see Hogwarts, the grey lady, the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw, the Ravenclaw crest-

I thrash in the water trying to shake this numb, deafness away but I still don't hear a thing,

I see his face, pale, cold, his eyes pained and wide, knowing-

he knows what we're doing

Finally, I break through and the sound of the splashing water fills my ears, and I take a breath, turning to see the others swimming towards the shore. I follow them, slowly, breathlessly, struggling to keep my head above water.

I reach the shore, scrambling onto the rocks after them, my teeth chattering loudly as I walk to where they are standing,

"He knows, you know who, he knows we broke into Gringotts and he- He knows we're hunting Horcruxes, I saw it," I stutter, watching as Hermione pulls out her beaded bag and starts rummaging through it,

"You let him in? Clara, you can't-" Hermione says, her voice almost shrill with fear,

"I know Hermione but I can't always stop him-"

"Nevermind, what happened?" Ron asks quickly, and I swallow,

Harry wraps an arm around me, "He's angry I think, and scared too, and there's more, we have to go to Hogwarts,"

"What? Why?! You saw something?" Hermione asks in disbelief, passing me some dry clothes,

"I saw the castle and Rowena Ravenclaw, the next Horcrux has to be there," I manage, pulling off my jacket and then my shirt, and fumbling with a dry one,

"Well, we have to go there, now," Harry says matter of factly,

"What? No, we have to plan we have to-"

I chuckle, pulling the dry shirt on over my wet bra and then undoing it, and taking it off, "Hermione, when have any of our plans actually worked, we plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose."

"She's right," I smile at Ron and start undoing my pants, "One problem, Snape's headmaster now, we can't just walk in the front door."

Harry swallows, pulling on his shirt, "We'll go to Hogsmeade, Honeydukes, take the secret passage in the cellar,"

Hermione gives up arguing, instead helping me get changed by holding a towel around my while I put on some dry underwear. No one speaks, all we can hear is the shuffling of fabric and our hurried, shivering breaths.

"Harry, it's strange, there's something wrong with him, before I- we - could follow his thoughts, but now they just seem disconnected,"

"Maybe it's the Horcruxes, maybe he's getting weaker," Ron suggests,

I shake my head, "No it's more like he's... wounded. If anything he feels more dangerous."

We fall into a strange silence, going through our damp clothes, attempting to warm ourselves, steady our breathing. I kneel, beginning to fold my clothes and frowning. I've felt strange this past month at the shell cottage like something's changing, something's different, in me, in my head. I've felt, ill I suppose, but not. My eyes flicker up to see Harry pass Hermione the cup we stole from Gringotts and my stomach turns. Something's changed. Or I've only just noticed it. And whatever it is, it changes the stakes of this war, for me, and for everyone else.