Chapter 22

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Hermione was not allowed to leave the guest room for a full day according to Draco. While she found it irritating, Fleur found it amusing and made sure they both had plenty of food and pain relief potions. The second morning they had been there, Hermione got up before Draco and made her way downstairs just to be sure she'd be able to get up. Her arm still hurt, but the pain relief potion Bill had brewed helped.

"Good to see you're awake, Mione!" Harry said, hugging her tightly as she wandered into the kitchen.

"Finally escaped Malfoy?" Ron asked before taking a bite of his eggs. Hermione gave him a look and Harry sighed.

"Why can't you at least be nice to him, Ron?" Hermione asked. After all, she'd been friends with Draco since first starting at Hogwarts and Ron's continued hatred for him was well past annoying.

"He's a git and I don't trust him," Ron mumbled. Rather than entertain that old idea, Hermione turned to Harry and asked how he'd been.

"Well, I've been thinking about the Horcruxes," he said, shoveling a bite of eggs into his mouth. He chewed quickly as he said, "You Know Who trusts very few people so obviously he wouldn't just hand a Horcrux over to anyone."

"You think he gave it to someone?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded and reminded her how he'd given the ring to someone as well as the locket and the diary. "But Professor Quirrel was a Horcrux, wasn't he?"

"Yes, but I think he was destroyed entirely," Harry replied. "When we were at Malfoy Manor, I had a thought. You Know Who trusts Bellatrix enough to carry out things like hunting me down. That's a lot of trust right there."

"You think she might have a Horcrux," Hermione said. Harry nodded but before they could continue, Draco walked into the kitchen with a scowl. "Good morning," Hermione said. Draco continued to scowl but took the empty seat beside her.

"You left," he grumbled, serving himself a large helping of eggs and potatoes.

"Yes, well, I wanted to eat and you were still sleeping," Hermione told him. Across the table, Ron blanched but Hermione and Draco ignored him. "Draco, how much does You Know Who trust Bellatrix?"

Both Harry and Ron looked at Hermione with differing expressions. Ron looked annoyed that she was consulting Draco while Harry looked worried.

"She's his number one," Draco said, glaring at his plate at the thought. He straightened out suddenly and looked at Hermione. "Why? What are you talking about?"

Very quickly, Hermione explained to Draco just what Ron and Harry had been searching for since summer. She explained what Horcruxes were and their theory about what Voldemort had done. While it was clear he'd made many, they felt certain it was only a few more.

"We've already figured out what two others are likely to be," Harry offered. Draco eyed him curiously, but Harry was unfazed. "Something from Hufflepuff and possibly Ravenclaw's diadem. I've heard the diadem could only be at Hogwarts since no one has seen it in decades, but we're not sure about Hufflepuff."

"We have a theory though," Hermione offered, glancing at Harry. Draco nodded for her to continue. "Bellatrix is his highest trusted follower. It could be possible she's hiding a Horcrux."

"Where?" Draco asked before shoveling two large bites of his potatoes into his mouth.

"Gringotts," Hermione said. While she hadn't actually said it before, she felt certain that's where it would be. Anything of importance could be kept there and a Horcrux seemed like something she would want to keep there.

Draco glanced at her while Ron choked on his food, clearly not having put that together himself. Harry looked shocked as well, but she could tell he understood her reasoning.

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