Harriet Potter

Returning to the tent with the sword I was still a little in disbelief that the breakthrough had come so easily, although Ron might not think so, but he was enjoying the benefits of just jumping into the icy water, even though he had already used several spells to ensure that Ron Already warm inside and out, Hermione brought him blankets and hot tea as soon as possible, and then began to inspect the sword we got.

The Gryffindor sword was as smooth and sharp as I remembered, with a cold gleam on the blade, and there was no trace of basilisk venom or other penetration.This ancient creation is extremely exquisite in workmanship, with an overall sense of strength and exquisite details. Even if you don't consider its function, just looking at it is pleasing to the eye.Then we also found out that it is not only invulnerable to water and fire, but also cannot be copied, summoned and transformed. Thank goodness Voldemort didn't find it when he made the Horcrux.

"This should be the real thing," said Hermione, "but I haven't seen the real Gryffindor sword with my own eyes, so I can't be entirely sure."

"I think it is," I said, taking the hilt of my sword and giving it a slight swing.

"We have a way to check, don't we?" Ron said, looking into Hermione's pocket. She took out the Slytherin locket, looked at it with a frown for a while, and handed it to me.

The locket trembled slightly in my hand, and I could clearly feel the restlessness within, knowing that something that could destroy it was nearby.

"We should destroy it right away," I said, handing the locket back to Ron, who and Hermione both agreed.

We left the tent with the Gryffindor sword and locket, and looked around until we settled on a large flat rock by the side of an old tree stump.Hermione cleared off the snow, put the locket on top, and motioned for Ron to give me the sword.

I waved my hand and refused, "I'll open it, and one of you will stab it. As soon as you open it, stab it, and the things inside will resist. The Riddle in the diary wants to kill me."

"No, it's up to you," said Hermione.

"I can't, this thing has a great influence on me, it has controlled me."

"So you've got to get over it, don't you?" said Ron.

"It won't change anything!" I took a step back. "You-Know-Who is still on my mind. What if he could communicate with Horcruxes? That's what he ordered Nagini."

"He already has the ability to command snakes, which is different from the locket," said Hermione.

"we do not know!"

"We're going to destroy the Horcruxes and defeat the You-Know-Who." Hermione raised her voice. "Besides, there are many things we don't know. If we want to worry about them all, then we don't have to do anything."

"You've kept the mysterious man out of your mind for more than a year, you can do it." Ron said, holding the sword upside down and handing it to me. I hesitated for a few seconds and took it.

"But how are you going to open it?" he asked.

"I'll tell it to open, Parseltongue," I said, and the answer came out so naturally, like I'd known it all along, or maybe it wasn't until I met Nagini.

Looking at the serpentine "S" inlaid with sparkling emeralds, I could easily imagine it as a tiny snake coiled on a cold stone.Ron and Hermione pressed the locket from both sides respectively. I took a deep breath and felt a part of the back of my throat that I don't usually use when speaking is tightening. I can issue commands in the next second——

I exhaled that breath again tremblingly, "I don't know..."

"You can," said Hermione firmly. "We're with you."

"Let's get rid of it, Harry." Ron said my name, like closing a cog in my brain.

"Go." I hissed.

The little gold lid of the locket popped open with a click, and behind the two small glass windows was a living eye blinking, black and bright, like Tom Riddle's before the eyeballs turned red and the pupils became a line.I raised the sword with trembling hands, and the point of the sword hung over two wildly moving eyes, which suddenly stopped and met me.

"Stick!" Hermione yelled, the end of the sound dissipated in the air as if blown by a strong wind.

In the next second, Hermione, Ron, the boulder, and the snow all disappeared, as did the forest and the tent not far away. I staggered back, but found that I couldn't get away from the locket at all. It glowed, not illuminating the hollow darkness around it in the slightest.The Gryffindor sword was still in my hand, and the moment I realized it was so hot I almost dropped it.

"I see your heart, it's mine," said the locket in a low voice.

I should have pierced it right away, but the Gryffindor sword was so heavy again that I could barely hold it, I couldn't move it at all.Two grotesque soap-bubbles emerged from those eyes, and they merged above the locket, rose, twisted and writhed grotesquely, and became—me.She—I—stands above the locket, swaying slightly, with a peaceful expression, her pale face carved in stone, and the green eyes that meet me are quiet and firm, unshattered.

She is me, but sane, powerful and cold.She's alone but doesn't know it, she doesn't feel the bubbling pain, the tumbling guilt, the burning rage, she goes straight to her goal, doesn't falter even if the soles of her feet are bleeding, she isn't even cruel because She doesn't care at all.She held out a hand to me, and I thought how easy it would be to let go of the weight in my hand.

—No matter what happens, we are by your side.you know

The sword stabbed down.

The world came back, the boulders and the snow and the woods, the cold and the crash, the locket screaming, and it overloaded my senses.Ron and Hermione rushed up from left to right, protecting me from it.

"Harry?"

"I'm fine." The screaming finally stopped, and I lifted the sword feebly, looking at the locket, its small window punctured, and wisps of smoke rising from the colored silk lining. "I... I destroyed it."

The sword fell to the ground with a clang, and I fell to my knees, clutching my head, shaking violently uncontrollably.Two hands rest on my shoulders, conveying something more important than body temperature.

"You did it, Harry," said Hermione softly.

After a long time, my knees and calves could feel the cold snow seeping into the fabric of my clothes, and I was finally able to stand up holding Ron's arm.Hermione picked up the shattered locket, inspected the small punctured window, and pocketed it.

"Go back to the tent, I'm freezing," said Ron.

Back in the tent, Hermione had been busy checking her and Ron's hands with various spells, and they were both burnt somehow.

"What happened to your hands?" I asked.

"Don't you know?" Ron was dripping white meat into the tiger's mouth, watching the skin grow there.

"Did you see those eyes?" I asked, and they both nodded. "When I met them, everything around me disappeared. I could still see the locket, and feel the sword, but I don’t even know where I am.” The memory of the weightlessness and bewilderment made me shiver, and I quickly took another swig of hot tea.

"I saw you put down the sword, and seemed to be stunned," said Hermione uncomfortably, "and then something that looked like you rose from the locket."

"A horrible, evil version of you," Ron continued, showing me the reddened skin that hadn't fully healed. "You're staring at it like it's being controlled, and we tried to close the locket, but it got hot and we had to let it go."

"You didn't move for a long time, and I wanted to knock you unconscious first. But you raised the sword and pierced it in one fell swoop," said Hermione. "It... screamed, and then there was no movement, and you disappeared."

"What about you?" Ron asked. "What did you see?"

"I'm not sure, it might be what I long for, or it might be what I'm most afraid of..." I shook my head, "It tried to confuse me, and it almost succeeded. But then I thought of you... You guys in Dumbledore What you said to me after the funeral, everything you did. There was no way I would leave this behind."

Neither of us spoke for a while, but not out of embarrassment, neither avoided looking at each other.

"Well," said Ron slowly, "if you're trying to curry favor with us so we can forgive you for what you did..."

"Then I'll put it more eloquently," I said. "So, we destroyed a Horcrux?"

"So we've destroyed a Horcrux," I said, returning to Ron and Hermione, getting the sword, and destroying the locket, a sequence of events that still strikes me as surreal.

"That's right." Ron grinned, "The celebration can be saved until tomorrow night after we get and destroy the next Horcrux. The elves will definitely prepare a lot of delicious food on Christmas Eve. Maybe we can go to the kitchen -"

"We can't do too much, Ron!"

"Just kidding, Hermione."

At Hermione's request, we revisited our plan to infiltrate Hogwarts before bed.During this period, we repeatedly discussed the whereabouts of the remaining Horcruxes. The first victory seemed to indicate that more breakthroughs were coming. Inspired by the destruction of the locket, the tent was full of optimism than ever before.

"If we can get and destroy the Horcruxes in the castle tomorrow, there will only be two Horcruxes left, right?" Ron asked.

Something sank a little in my chest. "yes."

"One of them we know is the big snake that You-Know-Who always carries around," Ron added.

"Not necessarily, he let it ambush me in Godric's Hollow." I said.

"What are you trying to say?" Hermione asked.

"I was thinking," Ron's ears were a little red, "it's unlikely that the three of us will reach You-Know-Who and kill the snake, right? We'll need help..."

"You want to go back to the Burrow." I understood.

"Not that I'm going to back down or anything," said Ron, his voice trailing off, "but if, I mean, if You-Know-Who had it with him, killing it would be a head-to-head duel with You-Know-Who. No The Order of the Phoenix..."

"You want to see your family again, we all understand," said Hermione softly, "but we can't risk letting them know what we're doing, that would increase the risk of this being discovered by the mysterious person—"

"I know! I know...just..." Ron looked away, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, "Just pretend I didn't say it."

"But Dumbledore thinks that at some point... I guess it's when You-Know-Who finds out we're killing Horcruxes, and he'll take Nagini with him for extra protection." I said, "If the next Horcrux It's really hidden in Gringotts, and the chances of us taking it away undetected are slim."

"We'll need the Order of the Phoenix to help us kill Nagini then." Hermione nodded.

"That sounds like 'Final Battle' or something," said Ron.

The word caused a shudder among us, and to those who knew combat it meant something.

"Anyway, I do hope this ends as soon as possible," said Hermione.

"Me too," I said, savoring genuine surprise at the statement, "it will. We can do it."