Aurora | Harry Potter

chapter sixty-four

"Are you feeling okay?" Hermione asks as I fiddle with the locket around my neck, tracing the golden swirls with my fingernails. "Yeah, I just need to limit how long I wear it for," I reply, thinking back to last night, "I don't think I've ever felt that low since Cedric died, as the meltdown I had a few weeks ago was mainly stress about this mission, but last night felt like I was at the bottom of a deep, dark hole and that there was no way out."

Hermione pouts slightly and gives me a small side hug, being careful to not crease the book that Dumbledore left behind for her. "Hey, do you recognise this symbol?" She asks after we pull out of the hug. She flicks back to the opening page and hands the slightly battered book to me, where I see a small, inked in symbol of a circle inside a triangle with a line drawn through them both. "Uh, I don't know, but it's weird that it's been drawn in a children's book... do you think Dumbledore drew it?" I ask, receiving a small shrug in response. 

Then, we both sharply turn around as we hear Harry calling out my name. He bursts through the tent and saunters over to the both of us, the Golden Snitch in his hand. "Aurora, you were right! Snitches have flesh memories, only I didn't catch it with my hand, I almost swallowed it," he exclaims before he shoves it into my hand, a series of exaggerated breaths leaving his lips. I look down at the small ball to see a new engraving on the front: 'I open at the close.'

I read the engraving aloud and after a few seconds of thinking, I helplessly shrug and hand it back to Harry, just as Hermione mentions that she's also found something. She hands him the book and points at the inked drawing. "At first, I thought it was an eye, but now I don't think it is," she explains as Harry's eyes focus on the symbol, "it isn't a rune and it isn't anywhere in Spellman's syllabary."

"Someone's inked it in," I comment, "it's clearly not part of the book, so someone has drawn it in." Then, Harry speaks up. " Luna's dad was wearing that, at Bill and Fleur's wedding." Hermione raises the obvious question of why anyone would draw a weird symbol like that into a children's book, but both Harry and I helplessly shrug. 

"Hermione," Harry starts, clearing his throat, "I've been thinking... I want to go to Godric's Hollow." My eyes widen and I see a sense of shock in Hermione's too. "You know, it's where I was born, it's where my parents died," he continues, but I cut him off, taking his hand and looking at him with great concern. 

"Harry, You-Know-Who will expect you to go there. He knows that it means such a great deal to you," I say, trying to convince him that it's a significantly risky idea, even though I know it won't too much. "But it means something to him too, Aurora!" He backfires, "You-Know-Who almost died there! Isn't that exactly the type of place he'd be likely to hide a Horcrux?"

We all stand up and when I turn to Hermione, we both have the same expression on our face. Harry is right in that sense so although it will be quite dangerous, a Horcrux could be hidden somewhere in Godric's Hollow. 

"It's dangerous, Harry," Hermione starts to counter-argue, but then she sighs, "but even I have to admit, recently I've been thinking we'll have to go there." As Hermione continues and states that she thinks something else could possibly be hidden there, I watch Harry pump his fists in the air with satisfaction, to which I try my hardest not to giggle at. 

"Are you talking about the Sword, Hermione?" I ask and the brunette nods her head. "If Dumbledore wanted you to find it, but didn't want it falling into the Ministry's hands, where better to hide it than the birthplace of the founder of Gryffindor?" She explains and as we head back inside the tent, Hermione makes a comment that she never wants to attempt to cut Harry's hair again, which makes both Harry and I smirk. 

We collectively decide to wait until night falls and then we'll travel to Godric's Hollow, which will give us time to collect everything we need and have a little time to relax. "Aurora, can I have your beaded bag so I can start packing things up?" Hermione asks from across the room. 

"Of course, it's on my bunk," I reply, sending her a small smile as I withdraw my wand from my pocket. I tap my wand a few times on the wireless radio and remembering the password from the last broadcast, I say it aloud. "Longbottom." The radio dials switch around for a few seconds until a voice rings through. "Good evening listeners, this is Romulus. Tonight, I am hosting with Rapier."

A small gasp leaves my lips and I turn around, my eyes darting everywhere for Harry. He's not in the same room, so I raise my voice when I call for him. "Harry, Romulus is on Potterwatch with Rapier!" I hear a bunch of scrambling before I see him run through from the next room, an excited look on his face. 

I know that Fred and Lee Jordan had been talking over the idea of a radio programme before everything went down, but after the events of Bill and Fleur's wedding, they decided to commit to the idea. That's how Potterwatch was created. 

To avoid detection if any unwanted wizards or witches somehow latched on to the broadcast, several safety measures were put in place. Passwords were given out at the end of each broadcast, nicknames were given to both the hosts (Lee Jordan is 'River', Kingsley Shacklebolt is 'Royal', Remus is 'Romulus' and Fred is 'Rapier') and to the four... three of us searching for the Horcruxes. Ron was 'Freckles', Hermione is 'Bush-baby', Harry is 'Lightning' and I'm 'Rosebud'. Additionally, it doesn't broadcast every night - to avoid detection - and is always broadcasted from a different location. 

Ecstatic to hear Remus' voice, Harry sits down beside me and takes his hand in mine, squeezing it tightly. A small smile on my face, I squeeze his hand back and rest my head slightly on his shoulder, as we listen to the latest Potterwatch broadcast.