Marked

The Prophecy

Chapter 25: The Prophecy

"Did you get it?"

Draco felt a rush of affection at the sound of her voice and smiled as Granger shoved her book aside to run to him, excitedly clutching his hands. "Do you have the locket?"

"Yes," Draco replied, smirking at her enthusiasm. "Harry's got it."

"Let me see!" She reached out for it, her fingers animatedly grasping at the air. "Is it - does it seem much like the diadem?"

"It's quieter," Harry said, offering the locket to her from where it sat in his palm. "It doesn't have that weird chatter of voices."

"Only dark forces in there, I'm guessing," Weasley commented, looking discomforted at the thought. "Easier to get along when they're all on the same team."

Granger held it to her ear. The locket was large and ornate and seemed larger still in her small hand, the many tiny green stones glinting dully in the dim light that glowed from their tent.

"Hoping to hear the ocean, Hermione?" Harry asked, grinning.

"It's just so fascinating," she said, her voice hushed. "These horcruxes, I mean - they're awful, of course, but - "

"'Fascinating' isn't exactly the word I would use, Mione," Weasley said, nose wrinkled. "I mean, there's a piece of him in there - "

"A piece that will try to kill us, probably, if the diadem was any indication of habit," Draco said, pursing his lips with displeasure.

"The diary was that way, too," Harry agreed. "These are not exactly safe items."

Granger inspected the locket closely.

"We have to open it," she murmured, looking up at Harry. "How?"

He grimaced. "Not sure," he admitted. "I thought you might know."

Draco shook his head. "Are you serious?" he asked, giving Harry a look of wary disappointment. "This is Slytherin's locket. I imagine you would open it the same way you opened his chamber, right?"

Harry cocked his head, considering. "Parseltongue, you think?"

Draco shrugged. "Are you surprised?"

"I shouldn't be," Harry admitted. "You're right, I should have thought of that sooner. But then what? I guess if we use the sword - "

"Which we should," Granger interrupted, addressing Harry with the exceedingly swotty air that Draco had once found unbearable and now considered among her most charming features. "I've been doing some reading, Harry, and it seems to indicate that the basilisk venom is now impregnated in the metal." At Harry and Weasley's blank stare, she huffed impatiently. "The blade is goblin-made, which means the basilisk venom actually made it stronger," she explained. "It should be even more effective than the fang you used to destroy the diary and the diadem."

"Right," Harry agreed, nodding vacantly. "Well - since Draco was the one who made the sword appear - "

"Oh fuck no," Draco interjected, vehemently shaking his head. "Don't put this one on me. We don't know that for sure, anyway, and I hardly think you need to play so close to the rules - "

"Scared, Malfoy?" Harry asked, using Draco's signature smirk against him.

"Fucking yes, Potter, sure, if that's what you want me to say," Draco snapped. "I'm not in the business of volunteering to die today, and I'm pretty sure Granger likes my pretty face the way it is, honestly - "