Harry and Amelia Potter

7.11

Above, sunlight streams through a canopy of trees. Wincing, I rise on my elbows, seeing the locket lying in the dirt. I scrabble up, scoop it into my fingers and grin.

"Harry, quickly, in my bag, there's a small bottle labeled 'Essence of Dittany.'" I hear Hermiones voice call out to my brother. I look over and see the two crowded over Ron. His body jerks around, groaning in pain. "Quickly!"

I blink, and stumble dizzily over to them as Harry digs around in the bag. He then pulls out his wand.

"Accio Dittany." And a small brown bottle lands in his hand.

"Unstopper it." She instructs as I make my way towards them, seeing a large gash in Rons shoulder. I kneel down to the ground, grabbing the scarf around my neck and pressing it into his wound.

"Hermione. His arm..." Harry says, just staring wide eyed at us.

"Harry! For goodness sakes! Just do it!" I shout.

Harry does so, hands her the bottle. I remove my hands and she sprinkles three drops onto Ron's bleeding wound. Greenish smoke billows.

"What happened? I thought we were going back to Grimmauld Place." I ask Hermione.

"We were. We were there. But Yaxley had hold of me. I knew we couldn't stay once he'd seen, so when he let go I brought us here. Ron got Splinched. I'm... sorry." She apologizes. The smoke sifts, clears. Ron's wound no longer bleeds. "It's all I feel safe doing."

I rise, take out my wand and begin to walk in a wide circle, muttering incantations. "Salvio Hexia... Protego Totalum..."

"What're you doing?" Harry asks me.

"Protective enchantments. I don't fancy another visit like we had on Shaftesbury Avenue, do you?" I ask, and Hermione nods her head.

"She's right. Especially with Ron like this." Then she gets up and joins me. Turning back to Harry, "You can get going on the tent."

"Tent? Where am I supposed to find-" He stops, glances down at her bag, then back to Hermione.

"Repello Muggletum... Muffliato..." Hermione and I continue.

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The tent glows from within under a starlit sky. Hermione pours tea from a kettle into cups.

"How're the mushrooms? Seem to be the only edible things growing round here."

Harry and I grimace as he chews. "Edible" is clearly debatable.

"They're great." Harry fakes a smile.

"Make sure to leave some for Ron." She says to us. We nod and I look down.

"No problem." I mutter under my breath.

Harry sets his plate aside, plucks up the locket, dangles it in the firelight and glances at Ron. "How bad is he?"

"He'll be alright in a few days. Hopefully." She says. "If we could take him to Hogwarts, to Madam Pomfrey..." Harry's glance stops her, confirming what she knows. "So where do we go next?"

"Dumbledore had a theory." I begin. "He felt that the Horcruxes would not be made out of random objects. And he felt they wouldn't be hidden randomly either. We know of three so far. The ring, which according to Dumbledore belonged to Tom Riddle's grandfather. The diary, which belonged to Tom himself. And this, which again, according to Dumbledore, belonged to his mother."

Hermione eyes the locket as it glimmers in the firelight. "It scares me a bit, that, thinking it's a piece of Vol-" Ron cuts her off.

"No, don't! Don't say it!" We turn, seeing Ron stirring. "It's taboo, You-Know-Who's name. That's how they track people now. It's how they found us in the cafe that night."