To Have and to Want

A rock nearly hit Harry from above. He turned and saw several giant humanoid figures, ade fo black stone, without features. The figures stood on ledges and hurled rocks at them. Hermione and Smith threw shield charms and winced when the stones impacted.

As for the light, that came from the lava that Harry saw rising from the chasm below. The iron bridge vanished. They were on a small stone island, unable to escape, and besieged by stone giants.

"Aguamenti!" Harry threw a stream of water at one rock figure. But the water didn't reach it. Hermione and Smith tried the same, but they had even less success.

Harry threw one of the ropes they had used to secure themselves across the chasm. The sealing charm attached it on the other side, but as soon as Harry attempted to attach it on their side and use it, a large fountain of lava burst up. Some of it hit the rope and burned through it. Harry looked desperately at the piece left in his hands. The lava kept rising.

Harry got hit in the back with a rock and fell. He turned and saw that both Smith and Hermione looked as desperate as he was. Spells burst from their wands almost continually. An inhuman effort allowed Harry to get up and join them, blasting a particularly large rock hurled at them into pieces.

Lava reached the edge of the chasm and poured over the island. The three wizards climbed onto the central pillar. Smith's robes got partially burned, and Harry had to put the fire out with his wand. They huddled together and put up a combined shield, since they were now a very attractive target for the stone giants.

But Harry knew that this was only a delay. There was nothing they could do against the rising lava.

Harry looked at Hufflepuff's cup at his feet. Even if it was destroyed in the lava flow--something Harry seriously doubted--that left a mysterious Horcrux and Voldemort himself to deal with--and Ron would be the only one who knew the whole story.

"I can't stand!" Smith yelled. He desperately clung to the ever-shrinking rock pillar, supported by Hermione.

"Get on top of me," Harry said.

"Wha--"

"Do it!" Harry shouted. "Hermione, get on top of him, and do as much as you can to keep those rocks away from us!"
Smith and Hermione complied. "What's the point?" Smith grumbled.

"Shut up," Harry said, straining under the weight as he climbed to the very top of the pillar.

The rise of the lava didn't stop. There was no more room for anything on the pillar except the cup and Harry's feet. Harry felt every rock that hit Hermione's shield. Several times, he nearly lost his balance. The heat was burning his face.

"Aguamenti!" a new voice shouted from above. This was followed by a hiss of steam, and a loud crack. Harry couldn't look up, but suddenly, the weight on his shoulders got lighter.

Moments later, he felt Smith yanked up, and let go. The lava nearly reached his toes.

"Gotcha!" Parvati's voice said, and harry felt a familiar warm hand pull him onto a broomstick and saw Parvati lift him. Around him, four other broomstick hovers. Ron with Hermione, Ginny with Smith, and Padma, alone and hovering higher than the Gryffindors. She threw a stream of water at t he last rock giant and cracked him.

"Let's go," Ron said.

"One moment." Harry remembered. "Accio! Aguamenti!"

The lava let the golden cup loose from its rock bed and the Horcrux emerged from the red lake, right towards Harry. He was right to take the precaution to cool it--it was hot even so. And then the four broomsticks headed up through a hole, and emerged inside the Stonehenge ring. Harry breathed freely. Through sheer luck, no one was harmed.

XXX

By the time they landed and rested enough to Apparate, dawn was coming. The group happily walked into Hogwarts and found Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Professor McGonagall waiting form them.

"You're alive!" Neville said.

"How did it go?" Luna asked.

"Potter, Smith, Weasley, Weasley, Patil, Patil, and Granger." McGonagall frowned at them. "Detention for curfew violation."

"Professor, we found another You-Know-What," Harry ignored the punishment, while Ron exclaimed, "What?!"

McGonagall frowned even harder. "Let's see it."

Harry handed her the cup. "Hey!" Smith protested. "That's a family--"

"Potter, come with me," McGonagall said. Harry followed. When they were out of everyone's earshots, McGonagall looked at him and said sternly, "I don't know what you're playing at, but this cup is not and never has been a Horcrux."

Harry was too shocked to even think clearly. "But the tracking charm..."

"What charm?"

"The tracking charm from Smith's medallion. That's how we reached this."

"I'll have Professor Flitwick inspect this and the medallion. But we're probably dealing with a forgery--a very skilled forgery."

"Voldemort," Harry said. Then he descended to the ground. "What do I tell them?"

"My advice? The truth. And tell Mr. Smith that Professor Flitwick could use his help with this, seeing as the real thing did belong to his family."

Harry was in a dark mood when he returned to the rest of the group, and this had almost nothing to do with how tired he was.

"Potter, where--" Smith demanded.

"Professor Flitwick will take a look at it. McGonagall said you should help him. It was a fake, the real cup is still hidden." Smith looked at him for a long time, but said nothing and left.

Harry looked at the rest of the group. They all appeared subdued, except for Parvati. His girlfriend looked really angry... and it looked like she was angry at him.

"What were you thinking?!" she shouted. "I thought we agreed--you wouldn't go off alone!"

"I wasn't alone, I--"

"We agreed you wouldn't keep me out of the loop. You broke that promise, Harry."

"I--"

"You. Broke. Your. Promise," she said. "You don't trust me. Why should I trust you?" She turned and walked away.

"I do trust you!" Harry yelled in desperation.

"Words," Parvati retorted without looking back.

Harry called after her. "Parvati!"

"Leave me alone, Harry! I'm not interested in empty excuses or apologies!"

"Par--"

"I said leave me!" Parvati turned and, before Harry realized what was happening, hit him with a very painful spell that sent him reeling, and caused several flapping bat-wings to emerge on his body.

"Uh-oh," he heard Ginny's voice as she rushed to help him. "Sorry, Harry. I taught Padma the Bat-Boogey hex and she must have..." She gave her girlfriend a glare as she cast the countercurse on Harry.

"I better see her," Padma said. "Gin--"

"I'll come with you," she replied. She threw Harry an apologetic look and left. Harry was left with Ron and Hermione.

"Just my luck," Harry muttered. "Cho gets jealous for no reason and cries all the time, Ginny turns out to be a lesbian, and Par--"

"Well, Harry--" Hermione began.

"Don't tell me she's right. I know that! But I can't turn back time! Not now, anyway. If--"

"So tell her that," Hermione said.

"At this point, I'd tell her anything. It's just doubtful she'll believe me."

Hermione couldn't find a reply to that. "Ron," she said. "Wh--"

Ron cut her off. "You want to know what I think about Ginny and Padma now."

Hermione nodded. "And one other thing."

"What?"

"How did you know where to go?"

"Well, it's thanks to Harry," he said.

"Huh?" Harry asked.

"Neville told me you left and put him in charge of defending the school. Look, I missed you guys. I thought it'd help if I went into danger with you..."

"We know you're brave, Ron," Hermione said, blushing.

"I then remembered something. House-elves always know where their master is. They are tied to him or her by an unbreakable charm that ends only upon the death of one or the other.

"What?" Harry demanded, shocked by the information. "Kreacher knows where I am all the time? But he can--"

"He can't," Hermione said. "I've researched this. It's part of a house-elf's enslavement," she said disgustingly. "They are forbidden to reveal the location of their master."

"With one exception, Hermione, like everything else that comes to house-elves."

Harry realized what that meant. "If their master orders them."

Ron nodded. "Remember when you told Kreacher to answer any questions from me and Hermione as if they came from you?"

"You mean--"

"I couldn't summon Kreacher, but I went to the kitchens and found Dobby. He was glad to help. So I found you were at Stonehenge."

"And?"

"And I was ready to leave when Parvati ran out into the courtyard and demanded to know where I was going. I told her I thought you were in danger, and she just exploded. 'Harry's in danger, and you didn't see fit to tell me, his girlfriend?! I'm coming along, and if you move so much as an inch within the next five minutes, you'll pay for it, Weasley!' And she returned, bringing Padma and Ginny along. I couldn't even protest. They just drew their wands and threatened to hex me into oblivion." By this time, Hermione was laughing, and Harry was struggling not to.

"I don't understand," Hermione said once she got all the laughs out of her system. "After that, Parvati breaks up with you?"

Harry shrugged. Ron said nothing at first. "Try to talk to her, Harry."

"Oh, you're the one to give advice at--" Hermione said sarcastically.

Ron glared at Hermione, and they began an argument. As usual in these circumstances, Harry ignored them. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Black unicorn," Harry gave the password. The common room was almost empty--it was still early Saturday morning. The only person there was Parvati, who was sitting on the couch.

Harry moved towards her, but her reaction was unexpected. Parvati leaped up and shouted, "Dean, wait!"

"What?" Dean's head appeared from the door of the boys' dormitory.

"I changed my mind. I'll go with you next Hogsmeade weekend." She smiled at him and walked past the trio.

Harry, breathing heavily, sat down at the spot Parvati just vacated and looked at Ron and Hermione, who could do nothing but look at him with pity.