HEATHENS - Harry Potter ✔

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

As odd as it had seemed, Harry had managed to persuade Slughorn to give him the correct, original memory at Hagrid's during an acromantula's funeral. He had taken it to Dumbledore that very same night.

Kiera, Hermione, and Ron stared with open mouths as Harry explained what a Horcrux was: an object within which one has concealed part of their soul. One would have to split their soul and then hide part of it in an object outside the body. The person who would have created a Horcrux could not be killed even if their body was attacked or destroyed, for that part of soul would remain undamaged. And the way to split one's soul was murder.

"Dumbledore reckons he made six of them," said Harry quietly, so that other students trying to turn their glasses of vinegar into wine couldn't hear. "The diary, which I've already destroyed, Marvolo Gaunt's ring, which Dumbledore has destroyed – that's the reason his hand looks all dead, you know – then the Cup of Hufflepuff and the Locket of Slytherin which he stole from that Hepzibah woman. And his snake, the one that attacked Mr Weasley last year."

"What about the last one?" asked Hermione in a whisper.

"It's most likely an item from one of the other two founders. My money's on Ravenclaw because don't Slytherin's usually hate Gryffindor?"

"Oh yeah," said Kiera with a firm nod, trying to supress a grin. "We hate the whole lot of you – despise even. You're really too impulsive and loud, you know."

Harry smiled. "Oh – and Dumbledore said that he thinks he's found another one, a Horcrux as in," he added. "And he said that he'd take me with him to destroy it."

"Blimey, how did you forget that part?" asked Ron, sounding a little bit accusatory, though mostly awestruck. "Wow. You're actually going to go with Dumbledore ... and try and destroy ...wow."

"Ron, you're making it snow," said Hermione patiently. She grabbed hold of his wrist and redirected the wand in his grip away from the ceiling from which large white flakes had started to fall.

They noticed that Lavender Brown was glaring at them from a neighbouring table. Hermione immediately let go.

"Oh yeah," said Ron with a vague surprise. "Sorry ... looks like we've all got horrible dandruff now..." He helped Hermione brush the snow from her shoulders, and Lavender burst into tears.

"We split up last night," he told Harry and Kiera quietly, leaning forwards over the table. "When she saw me coming out of the dormitory with Hermione. Obviously, she couldn't see you," he gestured at Harry, "so she thought it had just been the two of us."

"Ah," said Harry. "Well – you don't mind much it's over, do you?"

"No," Ron admitted. "It was pretty bad while she was yelling, but at least I didn't have to finish it."

"Coward," said Kiera, though she was smiling. "You can be really inconsiderate of people's feelings sometimes, you know?"

"Well," said Hermione, "It was a bad night for romance all around; Ginny and Dean split up too."

"What?" asked Kiera, sounding oddly panicked. "Why?"

"Oh, something really silly ... she said he was always trying to help her through the portrait hole like she couldn't climb in herself ... but they've been a bit rocky for ages, you know that."

"So," began Kiera, trying her best to sound casual, but failing miserably, "there wasn't anything about one of them having feelings for somebody else?"

Hermione looked slightly confused, a look that was not often seen on her face, but then it cleared. "No, not that I'm aware of," she said.

Kiera let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She honestly didn't know why she was so worried about Dean and Ginny's break-up, though Hermione knew perfectly well.