Solving Problems

Chapter Seven – Solving Problems

Harry bounded down the stairs with a newfound energy. A Horcrux! He had found one. The grief about Hermione's disappearance had clouded his mind. He had lost focus. But now, his goal was clear again. There were still four Horcruxes to be found. He needed to talk to the one person that could possibly explain the reason why the Horcrux was at headquarters, of all places.

The room Remus Lupin normally occupied was empty, so was the kitchen. A glance out the window answered the question of the other man's whereabouts. A silver-white full moon hung in the clear, inky black sky.

"Harry?" came a rough and sleepy voice. The dark-haired young man turned towards the sound, his eyes coming to rest on his best friend.

Ron looked like death warmed over, Harry thought. He had lost weight; his eyes were bloodshot, and his unhealthy paleness made his dark freckles stand out sharply.

"You look like crap," Ron announced with a hesitant smile.

"So do you, mate." And they both broke out into the first real laughter since their friend was taken from them. It was liberating.

In unspoken agreement, they sat down at the kitchen table, sharing a quite midnight meal. Ron ate with gusto; he had refused meals lately. Concentrated as he was on his mashed potatoes, Ron didn't detect the locket Harry kept close to his plate, his fingers brushing over the markings absentmindedly.

"I wonder how it got here," Harry mumbled between bites of cold sausage.

"What did you say, Harry?"

"I found this," Harry said, holding out the locket for Ron to see.

"That's... eh... nice," Ron replied, eyeing the ugly thing.

"You don't understand." Harry's voice rose. "It's Slytherin's locket; the one Dumbledore and I went looking for the day... the day he was killed. It's a Horcrux, well, was anyway."

"Where did you get it?" Ron asked in hushed awe.

~o~o~o~

How do you abduct a hospital patient? A valid question, indeed. At least it was for Charlie and Bill.

It was an advantage that the patient in question was willing to go along, but Draco Malfoy was not well enough to walk on his own.

"Well, conjure a stretcher," Malfoy prompted the two Weasleys.

"Oh, yeah, why didn't we thing about that." Bill was already fed up with the blond's attitude. "What if someone sees you floating around like that?"

They had been discussing ways to get Malfoy out of St. Bart's since he had agreed to go with them about thirty minutes ago. The few possessions he had were packed quickly, but that was as far as they had gotten.

Apparating was out of the question; even Side-Along Apparation would be too much of a strain for Draco. A Portkey was no option either. Neither of the Weasleys knew the exact coordinates of headquarters, as they were protected by a new Secret Keeper. And producing one wasn't exactly easy anyway; their powers didn't extend that far.

"Charlie? Remember the old Ford Anglia dad once owned?"

"The flying one? Yes, but Harry and Ron crashed it a few years ago."

"A flying car is so much more undetectable than a floating stretcher," Malfoy ground out.

The two Weasleys ignored him. "We could borrow one from Gringott's," Bill suggested.

"What about the goblins?"

"You just need to grease them properly, and they'll keep quiet." The Weasley's turned to Draco. Yes, if someone knew how to get by the authorities, it was a Malfoy.

~o~o~o~

"Wow, that's amazing!" Ron had listened attentively to Harry's recollection. "What do you think? Are the other Horcruxes somewhere in the house as well?"

"I don't know. It might be some kind of coincidence," Harry said, though he knew it wasn't. It had not been easy even for Dumbledore and him to get the fake one. Maybe it had been a diversion all along, but that didn't explain the note.

"We have to find out who this R.A.B. fellow is," Harry reasoned. "He's the part that's missing in the puzzle."

"He's a Black, isn't he?" Ron tossed out carelessly.

Harry stared. Ron was right; it was so logical. How could he have been so stupid? It was such an obvious thing. And there he had been, whacking his brain for a connection between Voldemort and Grimmauld Place. "Yes, he's a Black, it makes sense."

"Who's a Black?" A female voice joined the conversation.

"Well, the guy who..." Ron started, only to get kicked in the shin by Harry under the table.

"Em, no one... not a Black, just black... always winning in chess with it." It was lame, Harry knew, but the Auror with the bright violet hair didn't seem to catch on to anything.

"Will Remus be back today?" Harry asked as casually as he could. He needed to talk to him. Not only was the man the only one of the Order Harry trusted infinitely, he was also the closest connection to Sirius and would probably know something about the rest of the Black clan.

"No, he'll stay in the Shrieking Shack tonight and the night after," Tonks replied, frowning. "None of us is able to brew the Wolfsbane Potion correctly."

Everything bad always came down to Snape, Harry thought angrily. His hatred made the cups in the sink rattle softly, but none of the three noticed, because Mrs. Black let out a loud scream.

~o~o~o~

"Fleur will kill me, if she finds out what I did," Bill moaned, almost crashing the flying vehicle into the roof of an old bank.

"She'll understand," Charlie assured his brother. Once the plan was formed, Bill had set off to get the car while Charlie had stayed with Malfoy. The goblins were a greedy bunch, indeed. Bill had had to agree to work for free for three months. His wife of only two and a half months would be livid, he knew. They had been saving money for their own house. At least, he thought, he hadn't taken money out of their vault; she would have realized that immediately.

It was funny how much his wife and mother had in common. He always found it funny how whipped his father appeared. He was not one to talk now. Fleur had taken complete control of their joined finances, only providing him with spending money.

The rest was a piece of cake. The old FIAT was extremely quiet, and the invisibility booster worked perfectly. When Bill arrived, Charlie had already carried Draco onto the roof of the modern side wing where the helicopters usually landed.

In a matter of minutes, they had settled the young Malfoy into the back seat, and were now almost in seeing distance of headquarters.

"We are almost there. I have to return the car tonight. You'll have to explain everything, and don't forget to get Pomfrey," Bill instructed his brother, who turned to look at Draco.

"He's sleeping at the moment, but I thing he'll wake up again soon. The spasms got progressively worse when I brought him to the roof," Charlie said in a gentle tone.

Bill slowed the car down, attempting to land the car in front of the house with the number eleven. Both redheads got out. Bill helped his brother get Malfoy out of the car carefully. Charlie carried the blond boy towards the house. Draco was still wrapped in the hospital sheets and was nevertheless shivering violently.

"I'll be back in an hour, at the most," Bill informed his brother before getting into the car and disappearing into the night.

As soon as Charlie approached the gap between houses eleven and thirteen, they were pushed to the side, making number twelve appear. Having no hand free to open the door himself, Charlie did what they all avoided – he rang the bell. After a moment of silence, the portrait of Mrs. Black started screaming.

~o~o~o~

Severus tossed and turned, sweat glistening on his forehead. He was dreaming.

Severus was leading a young woman into greenhouse number two. She was holding his hand and giggling all the while. Her strawberry blond hair swung from side to side, as she and the sixteen year old Slytherin neared the entrance to the glass building.

"Of course, we had to Obliviate her. Can't have the girl running around, telling people you raped her with the help of a lust potion now, can we?"

Severus Snape woke up screaming, he hadn't had this dream for years. He made his way to the bathroom as fast as his weakened knees could carry him. Leaning over the sink, he splashed water into his face.

He raised his eyes to the mirror, only to see the small figure of Hermione huddled next to the tub. Her eyes were open, and she stared at him with such horror, with the same look the girl in his dream had had. He stumbled to the toilet and was violently sick.

~o~o~o~

Hermione was woken up by an anguished scream coming from the bedroom. She debated getting up to go looking if everything was okay.

She hadn't even time to leave her uncomfortable place on the floor before the door opened and a ghastly pale Severus entered. He slumped over the sink, shivering. When he dried his face and lifted his eyes to the mirror their gazes locked.

She heard his harsh intake of breath, and seconds later he was bent over the toilet, emptying the contents of his stomach.

Her anger and hurt forgotten for the moment, Hermione moved to kneel down next to him. She pulled his hair out of his face and softly stroked his back.

Soon Severus calmed down enough to turn around. He collapsed backwards against the toilet, his eyes closed. Hermione collected a washcloth, wetted it and carefully started passing it over Severus face. The dark wizard was completely sedate, allowing Hermione to tend to him without protests.

"Come, let's get you back to bed, before you catch a cold," she said, surprised when he simply nodded and allowed her to help him up.

She led him back into the dark bedroom, where he sank down onto the mattress like a stone.

Hermione was at a loss for what to do now. She sat down next to him on the bed, whispering words of comfort, trying to coax a response out of him. His breakdown unsettled her.

Suddenly, he gripped her hand, drawing it to his chest. She placed her flat palm over his heart beat. "I'll never hurt you, Hermione, I promise." It was whispered so quietly, she almost missed it.

A moment of silent understanding passed between them. Hermione moved to lie down on her side, facing him. Drawing the covers up over them both, her hand still held in his over the soft thumping of his heart. It lulled them both into a deep, exhausted sleep.

In these few minutes, although neither realized it, they had formed a bond.

A/N: See they will work through it. I'm not that cruel.