Chapter 33

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"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

"I saw something move, I could have sworn it," I whisper.

Hermione began digging in her pockets for her wand.

"Hermione, we look like muggles!" Harry exclaimed.

"Muggles, who have just laid flowers by your parents graves?" Hermione asked rhetorically. "Harry, I'm sure that there is someone over there."

We stared at the bush for a few seconds.

"It's a cat, or a bird. Now come on, lets go. We can out the Cloak back on," Harry urged.

We continued down the road hastily, covered by the Cloak, glancing back frequently.

"How are we going to find Bathilda's house?" Hermione asked after a while. "Harry? Harry, what do you think?"

But Harry was beyond replying, as he dragged Hermione and I across the street.

"Harry-" Hermione began, but I could see where he was going.

"Look.....look at it, Hermione...." Harry whispered.

We stood, staring at the ruined remains of Harry's house.

"I wonder why no one ever rebuilt it?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe it's like Dark Magic injuries, you can't heal them, so you can't repair the damage?" Harry answered quizzically.

Harry grabbed the gate, taking the Cloak off us.

"No Harry, don't go in, it looks unsafe- oh look!" Hermione exclaimed.

A large sign grew out of the ground, and the walls surrounding the house were coated with messages for the Chosen One.

"Long Live Harry Potter," I read out the nearest one to me.

Harry and Hermione were busy reading others. I dug around in my pockets until I found a marker in one of them. I quickly scribbled a message and stood up.

"Harry, you are our best hope, so don't do something dumb and get killed," Harry's voice read my message out, appearing suddenly behind me. I started and turned around, smiling sheepishly. Harry was too close for my liking, even though it was freezing, and his warmth right now would have been very welcoming. Besides, Harry looked like an old man right now, and I looked like his daughter. What an awkward situation that would be.

Harry simply hugged me, keeping his arm around my waist, as Hermione called, "They shouldn't have written in the sign!"

Harry smiled widely. "It's amazing-"

A strange shuffling noise caught all of our attentions, and we noticed an old woman hobble towards us.

We all froze on the spot, until she was a few yards away.

She stared Harry's house. She couldn't have been a muggle, in that case.

The woman suddenly beckoned at us.

"Are you Bathilda?" Harry asked.

The woman nodded and beckoned again.

Harry began walking to the woman, beckoning Hermione and I to follow, as she led us into a garden and into her house.

"Bathilda?" Harry asked as he entered.

The woman rushed into the sitting room.

"Harry, I'm not so sure about this," Hermione breathed, echoing my thoughts.

Harry looked at me, and saw that I was feeling the same way.

"Look at the size of her, we can overpower her if we need to," Harry explained.

A strange hissing noise echoed throughout the halls. Hermione and I jumped, looking around wildly as we tried to decipher who or what could have created that noise, and where was it coming from.

"It's OK," Harry said, and led the way into the sitting room.











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"Miss - Miss Bagshot?" Harry called. "Who is this?"

I glanced at Harry. He was holding a photograph of a man.

"Miss Bagshot?" Harry repeated.

"Who is this person?" Harry tried again, waving the picture in front of her.

Bathilda just looked from the photo to Harry.

"Do you know who this person is?" Harry said, his voice louder and slower than usual.

What was so important in that picture? I wondered.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione asked, obviously as unnerved as I was at what Harry was doing.

"This picture, Hermione, is the thief. The thief that stole from Gregorovitch!" Harry said. "Who is it?" He asked Bathilda.

Bathilda could only stare at Harry.

"Why did you ask us to come here?" I asked, tentatively. "Do you have something for us?" The whole place gave me the creeps, and I wanted to get out as soon as possible.

Bathilda acted as if I never spoke, and instead, jerked her head towards the door.

"You want us to leave?" Harry asked. My heart leapt at that news.

Bathilda pointed at Harry, then herself, then at the ceiling.

"Oh, Hermione, Skyler, I think that she wants me to go up with her," Harry said. My heart sank.

"Alright, let's go," Hermione said, and began walking.

As soon as Hermione moved, the woman began shaking her head vigorously. She pointed at Harry and herself again.

"She wants me to go with her, alone," Harry explained, though we all understood.

"Why?" Hermione's voice rang out sharp and clear with concern.

"Maybe Dumbledore told her to give the sword to me, and only me?" Harry guessed.

"Do you really think she knows who you are?" I asked worriedly.

"Yes, I think she does," Harry replied.

"Fine, but be quick, Harry," Hermione whispered.

"Lead the way," Harry said to Bathilda, who immediately began to wobble out of the room.










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"Oh I hope he'll be alright!" Hermione exclaimed quietly.

"Oh, he'll be fine," I said, trying to convince myself as well.

"What's this?" Hermione whispered to herself, after a few minutes of silence. She was standing by the mantelpiece of the room, holding something.

I edged closer, and realised that she was holding a book.

I suppressed an urge to roll my eyes, until I realised that the book was "The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore," and she had the page open to the picture of the man who Harry was waving in front of Bathilda's face.

"Grindelwald," I read the name under the picture.

Hermione and I stayed that way, frozen on the picture, until we heard a loud crash echoing around the house. I jerked away and stared up at the ceiling.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, but I didn't bother to wait for the reply that I knew wouldn't come. I raced upstairs.










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The scene I encountered was horrifying. Harry's arm was engulfed in a snake's mouth, as Bathilda's body had collapsed on the floor.

"CONFRINGO!" I screamed, but my arm was so shaky that I missed, nearly hitting Harry instead.

The snake let go of Harry though, but turned around and stared at me with its beady eyes.

"Skyler!" Harry cried, as the snake shot itself towards me.

I barely had time to dodge it, and the snake towered over me again, but Hermione, my saviour, arrived and set a couple of curses at the snake, pushing it away. Harry's rough hands pulled me into a standing position.

"He's coming!" Harry shouted. " HE'S COMING!"

It took a second for me to understand.

Voldemort was coming here.

If he arrived, we were all dead.

I would have failed my mission.

I would have failed Draco.

I didn't really know what happened next, but I found myself getting dragged by Harry, who was also holding Hermione, and he jumped from the bed to the dressing table out of the shattered window into nothingness.

As we fell, Hermione screamed as we apparated.

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