The dragon took them north, soaring through the low clouds as its wings flapped loudly. The dragon roared as it flew over a large lake, the water rippling below them.
"We're dropping!" Harry yelled.
"Are you serious?" Ellie countered as she stared at the deep water below them.
"I say we jump," Ron shrieked.
"I can't swim!" Ellie admitted as she gulped fearfully. The water seemed to draw her in, the small ripples appearing to be crashing waves.
The others snapped their heads in Ellie's direction with complete shock, their mouths dropped open.
"It's okay! I'll catch you!" Hermione urged to her girlfriend before turning to Harry. "When?"
"Now!" Harry ordered.
Ellie took a deep breath and looked one more time to her girlfriend, who gave a promising look. The Hufflepuff felt her head spin as she shut her eyes tightly, then jumped, falling quickly before she broke the water's surface.
The four of them dropped into lake, their weight sinking them deep into the water. The waves crashed against their faces as only three of them rose for air, treading the water to keep their heads above. Its cold temperature brought shivers to the group, pushing them to get to land.
Ellie felt herself sink further, frantically looking up for her girlfriend. The breath she had taken was slowly starting to diminish as she felt the depths suck her in. The seconds felt like hours, and she started to believe that she had been separated from the group. Panic flooded her system as she flailed her arms desperately. Her vision rapidly grew darker, and the icy cold water only hindered her ability to move.
Hermione suddenly dove down to Ellie, swimming her way to the helpless Hufflepuff. Hermione firmly grabbed her girlfriend under her arms and started to pull, using just her feet to propel themselves upwards. They seemed to be getting nowhere, only moving a few inches with every passing second. Ellie's lungs burned for oxygen as she held onto Hermione for dear life.
After a few moments of seemingly stagnant progress, Ron suddenly dove down, motioning for Hermione to move aside so that he could pull the other side of Ellie's body. Together, Ron and Hermione brought Ellie to the surface, the three of them gasping for air. Ellie sputtered the water that started to seep into her mouth, coughing violently.
Hermione held her girlfriend up, clutching Ellie to her body protectively.
"It's okay, darling... You're safe now," Hermione reassured as she silently mouthed a message of thanks to the red-head, who merely nodded.
Ellie looked for Ron and finally met his eyes, thanking him in a barely audible voice. Nonetheless, he got the message and gave a small smile as he began to bring his hands in front of him to swim towards land. Hermione pulled Ellie along with her, trailing just after Ron.
The quartet exited the lake almost immediately after the incident, panting hard as they stepped onto the mossy rocks. Harry had a panicked look on his face as he began to walk ahead of the group.
"He knows. You-Know-Who," Harry heaved. "He knows we broke into Gringotts. He knows what we took and he knows we're hunting Horcruxes."
"Are you joking?" Ellie asked, hoping he wasn't speaking the truth.
"How is it you know?" Hermione urged as she followed Harry up the hill, with Ellie and Ron trailing closely behind.
"I saw him," Harry answered gravely.
"You let him in? Harry, you can't do that," Hermione protested.
"Hermione, I can't always help it. Well maybe I can. I don't know," Harry protested.
"Never mind. What happened?" Ron urged.
"Well, he's angry. And scared too," Harry explained. "He knows if we find and destroy all the Horcruxes, we'll be able to kill him. I reckon he'll stop at nothing to make sure we don't find the rest."
Hermione knelt down to fumble in her bag, withdrawing her bottle of Essence of Dittany. She removed the dropper and started placing them into Harry's and Ron's waiting hands. Ellie raised an eyebrow, though she eventually held out her hands for Hermione as well.
"Your burns," Hermione explained quickly.
Ellie examined her hands for a moment, seeing that red angry burns covered them. She hadn't noticed them before, but the treasure seemed to have injured her. She rubbed Hermione's potion between her palms, wincing as it slowly healed her injuries.
"There's more. One of them's at Hogwarts," Harry continued.
"What? You saw it?" Hermione questioned, looking up from her bag, holding a bundle of clothing in her hand.
"I saw the castle and Rowena Ravenclaw. It must have to do with her. We have to go there now," Harry prompted as he began pulling off the flannel over his head.
Ellie and Ron followed suit, removing the wet clothing that stuck to their skin.
"We can't do that. We've got to plan. We've got to figure it out," Hermione protested as she threw bundles of clothes at her friends' feet.
"Hermione, when have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose," Harry reasoned as he pulled a dry shirt over his head.
"Hermione, love. There's no time for planning," Ellie convinced as she began dressing herself in dry clothing.
"He's right," Ron agreed. "One problem: Snape's headmaster now. We can't just walk through the front door."
"Um, well, we'll go to Hogsmeade, to Honeydukes. Take the secret passage in the cellar," Harry proposed. "It's... There's something wrong with him. It's like, you know, in the past, I've always been able to follow his thoughts. And now, everything just feels disconnected."
"Maybe it's the Horcruxes," Ron suggested. "Maybe he's growing weaker. Maybe he's dying."
"No. No, it's more like he's wounded. If anything, he feels more dangerous," Harry finalized.
Ellie looked to Hermione to find that she had wrapped herself in a towel, too embarrassed to change in front of the boys. The Hufflepuff removed the towel from her girlfriend and extended her arms, using it to shield her from Ron and Harry's view.
"Go change, my love. They're not looking," Ellie reassured as she silently motioned for the boys to turn away.
--
Night fell quickly, and soon, the quartet Apparated themselves to Hogsmeade. They could barely see as the snowstorm hindered their view.
Hermione clutched onto Ellie's arm, grasping her bicep softly as she huddled close for warmth. Ellie placed a kiss on Hermione's forehead as the rest of them began to look around. Ellie's eyes grew wide as she glanced to a few posters plastered on the wall, the information describing an urgent search for Harry Potter.
Just as Ellie was about to open her mouth to warn the others, a loud alarm began to screech. Men began to shout from nearby, and faces of panic grew on the quartet's faces.
They quickly hid behind a large object, holding their breath as they heard two footsteps grow near. Ellie held Hermione close, using her body to shield her girlfriend in the event the Death Eater found them. Just as one of the footsteps were about to step into their view, another loud siren erupted, causing them to run off in that direction.
The group quickly made a run for it, with Hermione never letting go of Ellie. They ran through an alley and reached a tall gate, though its lock immediately put them to a halt.
A harsh voice came from behind them, erupting from a cracked door.
"In here, Potter," the voice whispered as it disappeared back inside.
The four of them quickly made their way inside, running down the stone stairs.
"Did you get a look at him?" Ron whispered from behind the girls. "For a second, I thought it was..."
"I know. Dumbledore," Hermione finished as she loosened her grip from Ellie's arm, now realizing the crushing grasp she had Ellie under.
Hermione began exploring the room they sat in, brining Ellie along with her. It was dark, only illuminated by a few candles. One of the walls held a large portrait of a young woman, with uncanny resemblances the girls failed to recognize. Just beside it hung a small mirror that showcased Harry's face, a broken shard missing from the bottom.
"What the..." Ellie trailed as she neared the mirror with an odd expression.
"Harry?" Hermione called out. "I can see you in this."
Harry walked over to where they stood, holding his own glass shard to the mirror.
Just as he was to connect the pieces, a tall man walked in, closing the door behind him.
"You bloody fools. What were you thinking coming here? Have you any idea how dangerous it is?" the man insulted, his voice raising as his eyes roamed the quartet.
The man's eyes rested on Ellie, his expression growing soft for a moment. He shook his head subtly before returning his angry expression to the rest of the group.
"You're Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother," Harry realized. "It's you who I've been seeing in here. You're the one who sent Dobby."
"Where have you left him?" Aberforth barked.
"He's dead," Harry answered gravely.
"Sorry to hear it. I liked that elf."
Harry pointed to the mirror behind him, continuing to stare at Aberforth, who hid in the shadows.
"Who gave that to you? The mirror?"
"Mundungus Fletcher, about a year ago," Aberforth answered.
"Dung had no right. It belonged to..." Harry started.
"Sirius," the man interrupted as he began to step forward in Harry's direction. "Albus told me. He also told me you'd likely be hacked off if you ever found out I had it, but ask yourself, where would you be if I didn't?"
Aberforth excused himself from the conversation with a knowing expression, offering to bring out some food and beverages for the quartet.
Ellie stepped behind her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her waist as her chin rested on Hermione's shoulder. Hermione faced away from the commotion to study the painting that hung before them.
"Did you see the way he looked at me?" Ellie whispered in her girlfriend's ear, though it looked like a simple embrace to anyone who might look in their direction.
Hermione turned her head to near Ellie's ear, giving the perception of a cheek kiss.
"I saw that too," Hermione whispered.
"He might know something about me. Or maybe even my parents," Ellie continued in a low voice as her eyes flickered to the kitchen, seeing that Aberforth no longer stood there. He held a tray of refreshments, his body close enough to hear any conversation between the girls.
Ellie placed a kiss on Hermione's neck before letting go her waist, spinning around the Gryffindor to face the rest of the room once more.
Ellie and Hermione both shared a similar wary look as they made they way to the table, watching as Aberforth set down the tray.
Hermione, Ellie, and Ron lunged towards the tray, each picking up a glass of butter beer and a small pastry.
"Do you hear from the others much? From the Order?" Hermione asked Aberforth as she brought the glass to her lips to take a sip.
"The Order's finished. You-Know-Who's won," Aberforth answered. "Anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves."
"We need to get into Hogwarts, tonight. Dumbledore gave us a job to do," Harry announced flatly.
"Did he now? Nice job? Easy?" the man began as he poured himself a drink.
"We've been hunting Horcruxes. We think the last one's inside the castle, but we'll need your help getting in," Harry explained.
"That's not a job my brother's given you. It's a suicide mission. Do yourself a favor, boy, go home. Live a little longer."
"Dumbledore trusted me to see this through."
"What makes you think you can trust him? What makes you think you can believe anything my brother told you?" Aberforth raised his voice. "In all the time you knew him, did he ever mention my name? Did he ever mention hers?"
Hermione set down the pastry she was eating to focus on the conversation. Now popping the last bite into her mouth, Ellie took hold of her girlfriend's hand once more, interlacing their fingers.
"Why should he-" Harry objected.
"Keep secrets? You tell me," the man countered.
"I trusted him."
"That's a boy's answer," Aberforth scoffed as he started to near Harry. "A boy who goes chasing Horcruxes on the word of a man who wouldn't even tell him where to start. You're lying! Not just to me, that doesn't matter. To yourself as well. That's what a fool does. You don't strike me as a fool, Harry Potter. So I'll ask you again. There must be a reason."
"I'm not interested in what happened between you and your brother. I don't care that you've given up," Harry stated. "I trusted the man I knew. And we need to get into the castle tonight."
Aberforth's angry expression changed into that of a softer one. He diverted his eyes to the painting before Harry, the one with a young woman.
"You know what to do," he told the painting, in which the woman nodded and started to walk away.
"Where have you sent her?" Harry asked.
"You'll see soon enough," the man finalized before walking away.
Ron, Ellie, and Hermione approached Harry slowly, their eyes fixated on the painting that no longer portrayed the woman.
"That's your sister, Ariana, isn't it? She died very young, didn't she," Hermione commented.
"My brother sacrificed many things, Mr. Potter... on his journey to find power, including Ariana. And she was devoted to him. He gave her everything... but time," the man spoke, turning around momentarily.
"Thank you, Mr. Dumbledore," Hermione spoke up, turning back to the rest of the group as Aberforth exited the room. "He did save our lives twice. Kept an eye on us in that mirror."
"She's right, you know," Ellie told Harry, bringing her arm to sling over Hermione's shoulders.
"That doesn't seem like someone who's given up," Hermione whispered as she leaned her head on Ellie's collarbone.
Both Hermione and Ellie squinted their eyes as the painting's stillness shifted. They leaned their heads forwards synchronously as they examined the painting before them.
"She's coming back," Hermione observed.
"Who's that with her?" Ron asked.
The painting slowly started to open, seeming to be hinged to the wall on one side. Ellie stepped in front of her girlfriend, protecting her in the event something where to jump out.
The four of them took a step backwards as they prepared themselves for the other side of the painting. The dark tunnel finally opened, and the quartet gasped with wide smiles.
"Neville," Harry and Ellie greeted. "Oh, you look..."
"Like hell, I reckon," Neville smiled as he kneeled in the tunnel. "This is nothing. Seamus is worse. Hey, Ab, we've got a couple more coming through."
Ellie smiled widely, kissing her girlfriend out of utter happiness. Another win came that night, though the quartet had no idea of the events to come.