𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 | 𝐃. 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐎𝐘

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕𝟕: 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐎𝐆𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒

You fluttered your eyes open as the light directly met your eyes, causing you to close them again for a bit. You blinked a few times to adjust your eyes from the light. You felt like you were lying down on beach sand. 'Oh, wait.' You sat up and noticed that you were on the beach sand. Suddenly, someone helped you up and dragged you on a hill. "Hermione?" You asked.

Hermione nodded and continued to walk. You squinted your eyes to see clearly and saw Harry and Ron waiting for you.

"He knows," Harry told you and the others. "You-Know-Who. He knows we broke into Gringotts. He knows what we took, and he knows we're hunting Horcruxes."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "How is it you know?" You asked. Hermione handed you a towel, and you gladly took it before wrapping yourself with the soft material.

"I saw him," Harry replied as he took his shirt out, making him shirtless.

"You let him in?" Hermione asked while Ron took his shirt off as well. "Harry, you can't do that!" Hermione exclaimed while wrapping herself on a towel too.

"Hermione, I can't always help it!" Harry argued but paused for a moment. "Well, maybe I can. I don't know!"

"Never mind!" Ron exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Well, he's angry..." Harry trailed off. "And scared too. He knows, if we find and destroy all the Horcruxes, we'll be able to kill him. I reckon he'll stop at nothing to make sure we don't find the rest. And there's more. One of them is at Hogwarts."

"What?" You asked in disbelief. "You saw it?"

Ron and Harry wore a new set of dry clothes that Hermione had given them.

"I saw the castle," Harry replied. "And Rowena Ravenclaw. It must have something to do with her. We have to go there, now!"

"Well, we can't do that!" Hermione complained. "We've got to plan, and we've got to figure it out!"

"Hermione, when have any of our plans ever actually worked?" You asked, crossing your arms.

"We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose," Harry added, earning a nod from Ron.

"He's right!" Ron exclaimed. "One problem... Snape's Headmaster now, we can't just move freely from the front door!"

"Well, we'll go to Hogsmeade, to Honeydukes. Take the secret passage in the cellar." Harry replied before walking away as you, Ron, and Hermione followed behind. "It's... there's something wrong with him. It's like, you know, in the past... I've always been able to follow his thoughts. And now everything just feels disconnected."

"Maybe it's the Horcruxes?" You suggested. "Maybe he's growing weaker."

"Maybe he's dying!" Ron added.

Harry shook his head. "No! No, it's... it's more like he's wounded. If anything, he feels more dangerous."

°•○●○•°

Draco looked down, trying to avoid looking at the bloody scene in front of him and his parents. Numerous goblins who were working at Gringotts were killed, as well as the security. Lots of blood and lifeless bodies were scattered in the room, the place where Draco used to love as a kid. It was sickening.

Draco didn't dare look up, afraid to see Voldemort's murderous eyes. Narcissa held her son's hands for comfort as she looked at Voldemort fearfully. Lucius looked scared as well, trying to lower his head down, but he wanted to look brave in the eyes of the Dark Lord.

Draco gulped and looked up a little to see Voldemort, who was walking towards him and his parents with his snake, Nagini.

Voldemort started talking in Parseltongue to his snake that Draco and his parents couldn't quite understand. (For some of you who doesn't know what he said, he said: "The boy has discovered our secret, Nagini. It makes us vulnerable. We must deploy all our forces now to find him. And you, my friend, must stay close.")