Harry And Ginny - Action, Betrayal, and Casualties

Harry and Ginny were standing in the front hall of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Harry thought he would never have to return here, to the place Sirius has hated with such a passion. The confusing enchantments that were placed upon the house were sorted out long ago, and it was once again being used as Headquarters for the Order Of The Phoenix. The rest of the Weasleys and Hermione were staying at the Burrow for the time being, as were a few members of the Order, as Harry wanted the house empty, so no one would get hurt. His mind flashed back to Dumbledore, and the thought of the wise, twinkling eyes gave him strength. He gripped Ginny's hand tightly with his own, his heart pounding. They were there for a reason.

"Are you ready?" he asked her. She looked up at him, smiled. Trying not to think about whether that would be the last smile of hers he would ever see, he started up the long, winding staircase that led upstairs. He knew it wasn't down in the boiler, where Kreacher's den used to be. Kreacher had had many hiding places, but as he had died long ago, Harry had felt no shame in rifling through them. He had checked all but this one. He knew it was here, he could sense it, he could feel it. He fully understood what Dumbledore had said so long ago in that cave, that the place had known magic. He concentrated hard on his task. This one was for Dumbledore.

He stepped over the threshold of the room he had been thinking about for weeks. This was one of the rooms that he, Hermione, and the Weasleys had cleaned out so many years before, back when Harry was still at school, trying to make the house fit for human habitation. He went over to the glass cabinet in the corner. It was now broken, smashed, the glass fragments scattered over the floor. Ginny waved her wand, causing the glass to soar in a graceful arc into a neat pile on the opposite side of the room. Harry turned to flash her a tight, grateful smile. His grin widened as he saw the hole in the wall that had been concealed by the cabinet. He was right. That was the first step. He climbed in, lighting his wand, Ginny directly behind him.

There was a passageway not unlike the one he used to travel when sneaking into Honeydukes with the enchanted map Fred and George Weasley had given him. It was low, damp, and earthy. He ran along it, Ginny following him. It did not go very far before it widened considerably into a very small room, just big enough for Harry and Ginny to stand inside, a foot's worth of space on every side. There was a hole in one wall, elongating it strangely, as if a very strong explosion had taken place. Harry walked slowly forward, his wandlight flickering slightly. Ginny made to follow suit, but he held her back, giving her a warning look. He didn't care whether he lived or died, but he was going to make sure that Ginny got out of here safely. He felt the magic humming in the air, and suddenly, as though a book had been transplanted in his head, he knew what had happened here, and how much danger they were in.

R.A.B. had been Regulus Black, which was why they were in this house. Harry's newfound knowledge told him that this was not Kreacher's hiding place, it was Regulus's. He had taken the real Horcrux from the lake in that awful cave Harry himself has visited with the help of his cousin Bellatrix. Bellatrix had had no idea that Regulus had come to destroy Voldemort's Horcrux, she had never even heard of Horcruxes herself. Regulus had told her he must retrieve something that had been buried long ago, and would she help him get it? After getting out of the cave, Regulus had brought himself back to full health, and come back to his now-empty house. He had created the passageway so no one else would get hurt, in case he failed. He tried to undo the enchantments that kept the Horcrux inside the locket and succeeded, but the fragment of Voldemort's soul had killed him easily, as he was so weak from breaking the spells. His body had lay here, decaying, and finally wasted away into dust.

Harry felt a chill go up his spine. What spell could be so powerful that a man who could survive that awful potion in that cave could break, but die instantly afterwards? He moved forward, looking around, trying to see.

Accio Horcrux!

The locket came soaring out of the dust lining the floor, and Harry caught it. His heart gave a huge leap as he recognized at once the ornate, twisted S that was Slytherin's mark. He opened the locket.

AAAH!

He let out an unearthly scream, and he heard Ginny's shriek behind him. The face that had stared at him out of the back of Quirrell's head, that had haunted him in his dreams, that he had seen rise from a massive cauldron in the middle of a graveyard, was staring at him now, with slits for nostrils and gleaming, hungry red eyes. For a moment, he couldn't move. Fear was holding him prisoner in his own body, unable to move. Ginny rushed forward and threw scarlet fire at the fragment of Voldemort's soul. The image of that horrible face flickered ever so slightly, but did not die. Harry felt feeling rush back into him, and shot spell after spell with Ginny alongside him. The fragment of soul tried to rush at Ginny, but Harry blocked it, shielding her. It then went for Harry himself, who dodged, before Ginny sent another spell at it, and it turned to her. On and on it went, until Harry's heart was pounding from exhaustion. Breathing hard, he turned to find Ginny at the opposite side of the room, and the fragment of soul between them. He met Ginny's eyes. At the same second they whirled their wands at the thing between them, sending the strongest power on earth hurtling towards it, the power of love. The spells connected, and Harry knew no more.