It was Hermione's leap in logic that conveyed just how far down the path to madness Voldemort had really traveled when she said, "Why just three? Seven is the most magical number in Arithmancy."
Shocked, Harry croaked softly, "Sweet Merlin, seven of them?" The answer to his question blossomed in his mind and he slumped in his chair at the implications. Looking up at the adults, he could see the despair reflected in their faces as they realized how large of an undertaking finding the remaining four vessels that contained the pieces of Voldemort's soul was going to be.
Deciding that a change of scenery would help ease the tension, Annabelle announced, "Let's head to the library for some tea and biscuits."
Everyone followed her in a daze, lost in his or her thoughts. When they arrived, the elves had already placed a tea service with a plate of biscuits on the table. Grabbing a cup of tea, Annabelle settled down into the loveseat with her husband and curled her legs underneath so she was sitting on her feet.
A small smile played across Harry's lips as he looked at Annabelle sitting on the loveseat just as Hermione did when she sat on the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room. He sat down next to Hermione and put his arm around her as she tucked her feet beneath her legs and got comfortable.
The conversation was light because everyone was trying to distract themselves from the daunting task that lay in front of them.
Hermione had resumed reading up on Coatl's with Harry reading over her shoulder.
Remus, Sirius, John, and the recently arrived Ted, were arguing about the merits of Quidditch versus Football and which sport was better.
Andromeda, Annabelle, and Dora were talking quietly about Quidditch and Football but with an entirely different slant. They were going on about how fit the male athletes were much to the annoyance of the men. Their occasional giggles caused everyone else to look up in surprise in some cases and exasperation in others.
Unable to stand the incessant giggling any longer, especially from her mum, Hermione asked, "What's so funny?"
Annabelle and Andromeda were blushing lightly but remained steadfastly silent, refusing to answer Hermione's question. Dora, however, smirked and said, "We were talking about how fit the athletes were that played Quidditch and Football."
Dora was expecting Hermione to stammer out a reply, so when Hermione simply said, "Oh. Okay then." and went back to reading, she was a bit disappointed.
Curious, Dora blurted, "That's it?"
Hermione gazed up from her book and the grin that graced her face was almost predatory in its intensity, "I know perfectly well how good Quidditch is for the male physique, thank you."
No amount of Occlumency was able to keep the blush from creeping up Harry's neck, especially when he felt Hermione's emotions humming through their bond. Wishing he could just melt into the couch, Harry settled for keeping his eyes glued to the book in front of him.
Annabelle, Andromeda, and Dora all turned a bit pink at Hermione's innuendo while John just stared at his daughter in shock. Sirius, Remus, and Ted were failing miserably in their attempts to hold back their snickering.
Unable to stand the tension any longer, Harry blurted, "Can we please change the subject!" His outburst set everyone into fits of laughter at his expense and he was blushing so badly that his face felt like it could light up a dark room.
It was getting late and Remus was anguishing over the fact that Harry had pseudo Horcrux and how was he going to tell him about it.
Sirius could see the conflict in his friend's eyes and decided that it should be his responsibility to tell Harry. Speaking loudly enough to be heard over the light chatter, Sirius said, "Harry, there is something else that we need to talk to you about before you two head off to bed."
The tone of Sirius' voice brought all conversation in the room to a screeching halt. Harry leaned slightly forward in his seat while unconsciously tightening his grip on Hermione's shoulder.
Seeing that he had everyone's undivided attention, Sirius continued in a solemn voice, "We think that something else happened when you modified the ritual. There is a very good chance that you now have an anchor to this plane because Voldemort used your blood to construct a new body."
Harry was putting the pieces together and when he finished the thought, his blood ran cold. When he finally spoke, his voice was borderline hysteric, 'You… you mean that I have my own Horcrux?"
Hermione could feel the panic coming from Harry. It was so palpable that she was sure that even if they weren't bonded that she would have been able to feel it. Wrapping her arms around him, she whispered into his ear, "It's okay, Harry. You're not evil; this is just a byproduct of the modified ritual."
He shuddered at the thought of having his own version of a Horcrux. As he thought about Hermione's words, he understood that there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it right now but it still bothered him tremendously. Squeezing her a little tighter, he whispered back, "Thanks."
After he untangled himself from Hermione, Harry stood up and announced, "I'm going to go to bed. I'll see everyone in the morning and we can talk about this some more then. I'm… I'm not ready to talk about this yet." Turning to face his wife, he leaned down, gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, and said, "Do you want to stay down here for a while or are you coming up?"
Silently, Hermione stood up and laced her fingers in Harrys. She waved goodnight to the adults and they left the library together for the privacy of their room.
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