Clean

The Truth

a/n: With only a handful of chapters left, all tributes/author's notes will be suspended for the simple purpose of me not interrupting the story. Chapters will continue to post approximately every 3 days, but dedications will be revealed at the conclusion of the fic, which I currently estimate will be on or around April 7th. Please continue to read/review/message – and enjoy.

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Chapter 27: The Truth

There was an incongruous, scattered series of taps on her door and Hermione froze nervously. It wasn't the sound of Malfoy's distinct three-rap knock, and it was too late in the evening to be anyone else.

She cracked the door open and peered into the hall, jumping back as Harry's face materialized before her.

"Hello, Hermione!" he said spiritedly. "Lucky you're awake."

He pushed lightly past her and she held the door for him, confused. Her eyes strayed to Ron, who was ambling along behind Harry, but he only grumbled irritably, deliberately not meeting her eye.

She frowned, reaching for Ron's arm. "Hey," she said softly in his ear. "Any idea why he's – "

"No," Ron replied flatly, pulling out of her grasp. Hermione sighed, closing the door. She supposed Malfoy would have to wait, seeing how Harry had settled himself comfortably on her bed, sitting cross-legged with his head propped up thoughtfully on his palm.

"What's going on?" she asked him, smoothing her duvet before perching on the edge of the bed. She eyed Ron warily as he stood apart from them, his hands stubbornly planted on his hips with his mind obviously elsewhere.

"Horcruxes," Harry said simply, opening his mouth widely as though trying to accommodate the word in his mouth.

Hermione sat upright. "You got the memory!" she exclaimed. "How did you – "

"Ran into Slughorn on my way out," Harry said simply. "Got him to talk about my mother. There's a bit more to it than that," he admitted, thinking back. "Aragog – you know, the giant spider – "

Ron shuddered from across the room. "Please," he said tersely, "No details."

Hermione scooted closer to Harry on the bed. "What was in the real memory?" she asked, her face burning with excitement. "Did you get to see it?"

"Yes," Harry said, emitting a single, thunderous hiccup. "I saw it with Dumbledore." He looked around vacantly for a moment before returning his attention to her. "You were right," he said, as though he was just now remembering. "Horcruxes – they hold a person's soul – "

"Right," she said quickly. "And You-Know-Who made one, right? Slughorn told him how?"

Harry frowned. "A little bit of yes," he said, his brow furrowed. "But mostly no."

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances. "What's wrong with him?" Ron mouthed quietly to her.

Hermione widened her eyes and shrugged innocently. "How should I know?" she mouthed back, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.

They looked back to Harry, who was eyeing them with confusion. "Can you guys hear?" he asked loudly, opening and closing his mouth vacuously. Hermione glanced back at Ron, who was shaking his head slowly.

"Let's just pretend this is normal," Ron muttered. "Go on, Harry. A horcrux is – ?"

"An object to hold a piece of a soul," Harry said, bouncing his head as he punctuated each syllable. "One that you can only make by killing someone," he added, and Hermione nodded. Ron looked sharply at her.