With Honor

With Honor

Chapter Seven - The Plain of Fire

The last days of summer passed without much excitement. The only notable moments were when Harry and Ron passed their apparition tests, getting their licenses at last, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione had finally figured out how to operate the pensieve properly to store their own memories and access a particular memory they were looking for, and when Hermione performed the Fidelius Charm on Grimmauld Place, with Harry as the Secret Keeper. He had kept the secret tightly indeed, telling only Ginny one night during a dinner meeting at the Burrow.

Their days had been spent largely at the Ministry Library, where, to Hermione's delight, they searched high and low for information on the whereabouts of the stolen Tiara, and about the mysterious 'R.A.B.' figure which Harry insisted on finding. They had found various scrying spells, potions, and otherwise very complex wizardry and witchcraft, but to Harry's disappointment, none of them gave any indication to where the Tiara might be. Harry had even contacted the Curator of the Ministry Museum of Ancient Treasures, who had kindly, but realistically communicated back to Harry that if Ministry Officials had searched nearly two decades for the lost treasure and come back empty-handed, he would probably not have much of a chance. However, Harry did not let himself be deterred, for now more than ever, he was certain the Tiara would be one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and that realization alone was helpful to Harry's cause. In addition to the Tiara, they were now also searching for Hufflepuff's cup. Hermione had posed the idea that seeing as Slytherin's Locket had been in a place quite important to the becoming of Lord Voldemort, the other Horcruxes would also likely be stored in such places.

In consequence, they had split up their tasks into three categories. Ron was in charge of searching for the potential R.A.B. figure, Hermione had undertaken the task of finding potential choices for Voldemort's Gryffindor House Horcrux, and also combing the Prophet for any useful information. Harry, in turn, took the task of exploring the Pensieve and searching for leads on important places to Voldemort which may have been used as a place to hide the Horcruxes. Needless to say, none of this was particularly easy research, and save for a few false alarms, nothing particularly interesting happened for such a long time Ron could be heard beginning to grumble as the last days of August died and September the First was upon them.

For this day, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had decided to take a break, to send Ginny off to her sixth year at Hogwarts. Quite apart from knowing that he would miss Ginny very much, he did not look forward to the day of rest from their work as much as Ron and Hermione did. Harry knew Ginny very well, he had a slight inkling that sending Ginny off would not go smoothly, so it was with a sinking heart that he arrived at the Burrow, ready to see Ginny off to the Hogwarts Express. He knew it would also be difficult for Hermione - surely she must be wrestling internally with her desire to be Head Girl. Harry wondered vaguely if Hermione would change her mind at the last second and jump aboard the train, and if she did, would Ron follow?

Shaking his head clear, he hung back a bit as Ron and Hermione knocked on Burrow door. The ever-present strange mist had grown stronger the last few weeks, unnatural and chilling, and was now gnawing at Harry's bare ankles as he saw Ginny walk glumly out of the Burrow, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"Hi Ginny," Harry said, taking her trunk from her as she walked out.

"Hi yourself," Ginny said glumly. "Thanks."

"No problem," Harry replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad," Ginny said noncommittally. "Looking forward to seeing some friends at Hogwarts, and Hagrid too."

Harry blinked. He had forgotten about the gamekeeper and Professor at Hogwarts, and felt slightly guilty that Hagrid had not been given any particular notice that his three favorite students were again deserting him, this time not only from his class, but from the whole school altogether.

"Since my favorite person won't be at Hogwarts, however," Ginny said in a slightly high-pitched voice. "I guess I'll have to actually devote myself to study."

"Wow, didn't know my not going back would have such an impact on you, Ginny," Ron said from behind Harry and Ginny as they started walking to the hill where they had caught a portkey to the Quidditch World Cup years ago to catch one now to get to King's Cross.

"Oh yes, of course it does," Ginny said darkly. "Guess now I can go off and snog any random boy in corridors without fear anymore."

Harry dropped Ginny's trunk in shock. Would she really be doing that? Had she given up on him once more, was she going to get another boyfriend, perhaps rekindle her relationship with Dean? Harry felt himself scowl, angrily levitating the fallen trunk.

Damn bastard, he thought, kicking a stone that had been lying on the small road.

Well you can't really expect her to wait for you forever...

Well I can't even expect her not to announce that she's going to snog boys to my face? He thought bitterly, now inwardly fuming, the conversation around him turning into an unidentifiable buzz.

You made a tough choice, leaving her. You knew it would be hard, now you have to deal with it. The most important thing is that she's safe, the sanctimonious little voice chided.

Harry swore under his breath, wishing a painful death to Voldemort, Snape, Malfoy, and Dean Thomas, feeling as though the world had continuously toyed with him, bitter at the fact that everyone could have a happy relationship with the person they liked besides for him, and he had to sit by and watch the one girl he loved go off and snog Dean Thomas, that little...

"Harry!"

Someone had grabbed his shoulder forcefully, and Harry nearly swung his fist wildly until his muddled mind had noticed it was Ron.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked suspiciously. "You look like someone's killed your owl or something..."

Harry shot a dark look to Ginny, who looked back at him with an unfathomable expression on her face.

"Nothing, Ron," Harry said angrily. "Gerroff me."

Ron now steered Harry forwards quickly, pushing him along so that they were out of hearing distance of the others.

"You're thinking about my sister again, aren't you?" Ron demanded.

"Yes, I am," Harry replied bitterly. "Guess I can't help it if I'm just a little pissed off that she's going to snog some bastard..."

"You idiot, Harry," Ron said, a grin forming on his freckly face.

"I'm not in the mood to be insulted right now, thanks," Harry said, kicking another stone so that it hit a tree stump, bouncing off it and rolling to the grassy roadside.

"The only bastard she wants to snog is you, she's just trying to bait me," Ron said wisely. "C'mon, let me help you with Ginny's trunk before you kill Hermione back there..."

Indeed, poor Hermione was again nearly the victim of a flying trunk carelessly levitated by a distracted wizard. She shot a dark glare at Harry, and he shrugged in apology.

"I got it," Harry said, sending the trunk to float inches off the floor in front of them.

"Here we are, not a minute too soon," Mr. Weasley announced, reaching the hill. "Accio Ministry Portkey."

A small empty bag of crisps came towards him, and he caught it, offering it to everyone. Harry placed a finger on the packet. When Ginny's fingers slid gently over his, he shivered slightly, knowing full well it wasn't because of the gathering mist.

Harry braced himself, and sure enough in a few moments he felt the now familiar tug of a portkey, and he was pulled through time and space to a deserted corner of King's Cross station.

"C'mon, we better go," Mrs. Weasley said, checking her watch. "Two minutes left. Ron, Hermione you two first, Ginny and Harry next, we'll bring up the rear."

They quickly obeyed, running through the invisible barrier at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Harry was painfully aware of how Ginny had chosen to hold his hand, an expression of concern on her face that melted all his annoyance with her.

They ran for the scarlet train, and Ginny quickly hugged Ron and Hermione, as well as her parents who had come running.

She jumped onto the train without any goodbye to Harry, which he felt was bizarre, but he was not about to let it go. Harry stared blankly for a few moments, and it was only when the train started moving that he snapped out of his reverie.

"Ginny!" Harry shouted. She stuck her head out from a window near the back of the train, looking at him solemnly. Harry walked alongside the train, words jumbled in his mind. Was he to declare his love for her right there and then? Would he simply say goodbye and watch her leave? Suddenly, the words began spilling out of his mouth.

"Please don't go off and snog anyone else, Ginny," he pleaded.

"What's it to you?" Ginny asked coolly.

"It's a lot to me, Ginny," Harry said slowly. "It's more than you can possibly know."

The train had started picking up speed, and Harry now had to jog to keep up.

"Don't worry," Ginny said, her voice breaking. "I have no intention of kissing anyone else but you."

"And the same goes for me," Harry said. "But you knew that."

"Yes I did," Ginny said. "It seems I have a great deal more faith in you than you believe."

"Do you?"

"I do," Ginny said fiercely. "The real question is will you ever have faith in me?"

"I already do, Ginny, you know that."

"You have a strange way of showing it, I am on this train, aren't I?"

"That's not fair," Harry said, running now to keep up with the train. "You know I couldn't bear it if you were hurt, I've told you this a million times, you said you understood..."

"And I do," Ginny said. "I'm just wondering when you'll understand, and take a chance on me."

There she goes again, talking about this elusive understanding...

"There are things you can't possibly put at risk, I can't just leave things to chance, knowing I haven't done everything I could to make sure you were safe!" Harry said bitterly, stumbling slightly as he dodged a small sign as he ran along beside the train.

"Sometimes fate takes over, sometimes you have to take your chances," Ginny said mysteriously, her hair now billowing in the wind like a flag of golden red. The train gained speed, as if taunting Harry, challenging him to chase after Ginny. "Or lose what we both want forever."

Harry was now in a full sprint, desperate to keep up.

Or lose what we both want forever...

Would he do it? Harry thought. Could he? Could he simply tell Ginny Weasley that he cared about her, possibly loved her, there and then?

The train accelerated further, and Harry sidestepped a pole and an old lady as he chased after the scarlet steam engine. He vaguely heard the elderly witch complain about youngsters making crazy vows of deepest passion to each other.

"Have a good term, Ginny!" he shouted, unable to say what he wanted to. "I... I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Harry," Ginny shouted back, the train now moving so fast Harry could no longer keep up. Her last words were muffled by the wind, and Harry simply stood back, and waved. He watched until the long red curtain of hair vanished as the train turned a corner, and suddenly he felt as if a part of his world had gone.

You coward! Harry thought bitterly. He had been planning to tell Ginny that he did indeed loved her, but he could not get the words out. He slumped down on the edge of the platform, right above the train tracks, uncaring for the potential dangers.

He had blown his chance to tell Ginny how he felt, and now she would be in Hogwarts for three months without him, what if someone asked her out, what if she had a change of heart?

Something prickled in Harry's eyes, and he wiped what must have been dust out of them.

It won't happen, stop being stupid, Harry thought. Ginny loves me, she said so herself. I trust her.

His mind wandered to all the times they had spent together, laughing and talking. The time when he had first kissed her, the fire in her eyes, the time he had fallen clumsily at her feet at Bill and Fleur's wedding, the time they had fallen asleep together on the night of his birthday, her angry stance as he had declared she could not accompany them on their hunt for the Horcruxes, her delicate fingers running over his...

"She'll be fine," someone said, suddenly appearing behind him. There was Hermione, crouching, a sad smile on her face. "Don't worry, she's got eyes for no one but you."

"I hope that's true," Harry said. "She's a special girl."

"Would have to be one to win the heart of the Chosen One," Hermione said with a small grin. "C'mon, Harry. Let's go to Diagon Alley for some lunch, my treat."

She'll be fine, he said to himself, a new confidence rising in him unexpectedly. I love her... and she loves me. That's all I need to know.

With that simple realization, Harry smiled. He jumped to his feet and pulled Hermione to hers.

"Lunch sounds good," Harry said. "If we hurry, we can send something along with Hedwig so that Ginny doesn't have to eat pumpkin pasties and dry sandwiches."

Harry suddenly realized that it was Hermione he had been talking to, the same Hermione who had struggled with her choice of becoming Head Girl or staying with Ron and himself... watching the train go by must've been hard for her. He paused suddenly as they nearly reached the Weasleys, who looked at him strangely. He ignored them for the moment, however, turning to Hermione.

"You okay, Hermione? No regrets?"

Hermione beamed brightly, shocking Harry slightly.

"Only that I won't be able to see my best girl friend for another few months. God knows what I'll do with only you two boys as company."

Harry grinned back.

"Well, if the Chosen One is done chasing trains for the day," Ron said airily as Harry and Hermione arrived by the Weasleys. "Let's get out of here. I plan on enjoying this free day, and sending little sis off isn't exactly a party."

"Ron dear, are you sure you three don't want to come home for some lunch?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"It's all right, Mum," Ron said. "We've got a lot to do later anyway, maybe next week."

"Oh all right then," Mrs. Weasley said, resigned. She turned away, beckoning to Mr. Weasley. The balding man came closer to them, Harry could see the tired lines on his face. He must've been extremely overworked indeed, Harry had read that things were getting harder for the Ministry as Voldemort and his Death Eaters constantly caused disruption all over the wizarding world, and sometimes the muggle one was well.

"Take care of yourselves," Mr. Weasley said worriedly. "I've heard strange rumors from the Ministry and the Order, you might not be as safe as you think."

On that ominous note, he joined his wife, and the next instant, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley disapparated.

***

Although Mr. Weasley's warning had put them all on edge, their day had passed smoothly, with nothing out of the ordinary happening at all. Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Grimmauld Place in a much more relaxed mood than they usually would have, finding that indeed nothing bad had happened. The peace lasted until Ron had spotted a letter in a beautiful green envelope.

Harry reached for it instinctively, but Hermione grabbed his arm hard.

"Harry... I don't think you should touch that," she said shrilly.

"Why, it's just a letter..."

"A suspicious one," Ron said, now turning his head to look around at their quiet surroundings. It was nighttime, and most people had retired home for the night, no one was in sight.

"I think we should get in quickly," Hermione said. "Leave the letter."

"It's addressed here," Harry said reasonably. "It's probably from Ginny, it can't be any..."

"We should get indoors," Ron murmured, looking nervous now. "Something doesn't feel right..."

Hermione yanked open the door, pushing Harry in. Ron followed, levitating the letter carefully.

"Is this really necessary?" Harry asked. "I mean, it's probably just from Ginny, telling us she's arrived safe and sound at Hogwarts, why all the fear?"

"Because if it was from Ginny," Hermione reasoned. "Then it would've been sent inside the house. Ron, burn the envelope."

"Come on, we can't possibly just burn all our mail, it's just..."

"Incendio," Ron said, pointing his wand at the envelope, which erupted into green flames. Harry let out an exasperated sigh, which turned midway through to a sound of disbelief.

The envelope remained unharmed as the green embers died out.

"See?" Hermione said simply. "There's something strange about that letter, look, it has the Slytherin seal on it..."

Harry looked closely now, and was surprised he had not noticed it before.

"Voldemort?" Harry said, looking at the letter suspiciously now.

"Don't know," Hermione said slowly. "But I'll be damned if it's from Ginny."

"Well, we'll never know unless we open it," Harry said grimly.

"Are you mad?" barked Ron. "It probably has a killing curse trapped in it, waiting for it to be opened..."

Harry waved his wand, and sent the envelope flying into the fireplace, where it glowed ominously but did not catch fire.

"Get back, you two," Harry said.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione and Ron asked at the same time, unmoving.

"Sever it," Harry said. "Now get back."

Ron and Hermione obeyed reluctantly, and Harry raised his wand.

"Diffindo."

Instantly, the letter ripped open with a loud sound. Harry dived down in reflex, but was relieved to see nothing had happened.

"Accio letter," Harry said, before Ron or Hermione could think to interfere.

A worn piece of parchment zoomed towards him, and he caught it easily.

To the Chosen One,

What you seek awaits in the center of the Plain of Fire. Your window of opportunity lasts from now until the next fortnight. Do not fail, or it will be forever beyond your reach.

The letter was unsigned, and to Harry's great shock, burst into flames as soon as he had finished reading.

"Well," Harry murmured, as Ron and Hermione came to his side. "I think we have something meaningful to discuss at last."

***

Eventually they decided they would have to at least look into the claims of the letter. They knew full well it may be a trap, but as they had exhausted themselves searching for the locations of the Horcruxes to no avail, they had no choice but to check the potential validity of the letter.

It was, however, quite puzzling. Why would Voldemort hide his Horcrux in a desolate plain, with what appeared to be little or no significance?

The answer was provided by Hermione.

"The Plain of Fire is where Grindelwald first pronounced his status as a God... and where Albus Dumbledore defeated him when all his followers had been turned against him."

"Why would Voldemort put a piece of his soul at the place of Dumbledore's greatest achievement?" Harry wondered aloud.

"I don't think it's so much Dumbledore's greatest achievement," Hermione responded.

"More like a reminder to himself not to fail where Grindelwald did," Ron finished for her.

"So," Harry said. "Do you think this letter is legit?"

"Do I think it's plausible that the Horcrux is there?" replied Hermione. "Yes."

"But it doesn't rule out the thought that this sounds far too much like a trap for our liking," Ron finished for her once again.

"So be it," Harry said firmly. "We go tonight. A minute wasted is a minute that Voldemort could be planning something."

So they went, guided by the rough map Hermione had drawn out for them. The Plain of Fire was in Germany, somewhere on the outskirts of Berlin. Naturally, apparition would be the only affordable way they could arrive there, and although they worried slightly about how they would manage to apparate without a clear idea of their location, Harry, Ron and Hermione were fairly confident that this would be a small obstacle. Sure enough, as when they focused on the designated apparition point the Ministry had provided, they arrived safe and sound.

"I think we should scope out the place first," Harry said, his hand grasping his wand, feeling uncomfortable in the dark foreign land.

"We're about a quarter mile away," Hermione said, checking her map and frowning slightly. "Okay, so we've got to get to this point here, according to the letter... there might be an ambush from any of the sides. It's an open plain..."

"So there should be nowhere for them to hide," Harry said.

"They're wizards, Harry, they can apparate out of nowhere..." Ron reminded.

"Well so are we," Harry said, reaching into his pocket. "You two take the cloak."

"And you?"

"If it's a trap, they're expecting me to come," Harry said. "No sense in putting all your eggs in one basket, if they think I'm alone they'll underestimate us."

Really in his mind, however, he thought if Ron and Hermione were covered by the cloak they would not be targets.

They took the cloak from him with a word of thanks.

"We go by the plan," Harry said. "Apparate five hundred meters away from the center, by the large Yew tree. Get under the cloak now so they won't know you're there."

"What about reconnaissance?" Ron asked.

"We go in fast and quick, they wouldn't have expected us to come so soon," Harry said grimly. "Come on, let's go."

The Plain of Fire was nothing like what its name had made it out to be. It was a barren place, there were few trees and the grass was yellowed and dying. There was a stench in the air that Harry was sure could not have come from anything natural. Harry had arrived at the yew tree safely, and from the light tap on his shoulder, he surmised that Ron and Hermione had arrived too.

They had started walking in the direction towards the center, using the four point spell to guide them. Harry moved along tensely, getting ready to spring at the slightest warning signal. There was, however, no signs of life, not even wildlife. As they approached the center, still nothing happened.

"Well," Harry said aloud. "This doesn't seem like a place to hide a soul."

There was a large tree standing in the middle of the seemingly neverending plain. Harry wondered if it was here that his old mentor had stood and faced down one of the greatest Dark Lords of all time.

"It must be a dead end," he heard Hermione hiss in his ear.

"We should get out of here before something happens."

But Harry had just noticed something. In the tree, there was a faint but noticeable burn. Tilting his head sideways, he smiled grimly, remembering his last adventure with Dumbledore. Sure enough, as he squinted, the burn seemed to take shape.

Magic always leaves its traces.

Ron and Hermione stepped back, knowing that Harry had found something. The shape was clear now, a charred black burn with the likeness of a snake.

Instinct took over. Without consciously thinking about it, Harry stepped forward. Focusing on the burn, he raised his wand to point at the faint burn, and hissing in the snake language of Parseltongue, calmly commanded it to open.