HP/LOTM: Visionary - 435

Chapter 435: Lada Joins, Godric’s Hollow

"Ow. Why did you hit me, Lada?" Ron groaned, staggering to his feet. A neat paw-shaped red mark bloomed on his cheek.

"For running out on Harry," Lada said, licking her paw and flicking the snow from her fur.

"How did you… oh. Aiden’s power, right?" Ron caught on at once.

If Lada was here, that could only mean…

"Yes, my dear Ronnikins. You did brilliantly, you know. Walked out on them at the very worst moment," a voice said.

Lada’s eyes had turned into mismatched amber and deep blue. On her patterned little face, the expression was unmistakably human and mocking.

"A… Aiden," Ron stammered.

“Honestly, is it really so hard not to disappoint? Maybe you should go back to your mum, live as a nice, rich layabout far away from Harry,” Aiden said through the cat, every word hitting dead on.

Growing up together, he knew every one of Ron’s weak spots. A little prodding was all it took.

Ron’s face flushed hot, almost as red as his hair.

"Do not write me off. I am going to help Harry take down that damned Vol— You-Know-Who," he blurted.

"Then go. They should be near Godric’s Hollow. Harry needs you," Aiden said.

The light in her eyes faded. The dragon retreated. The cat came back.

"Haha, Ron, you are hopeless," Lada said at once, tail twitching in amusement.

"Hmph. Say what you like. I am going back," Ron said.

He grabbed his rucksack, slapped the dust off it, and set off toward Godric’s Hollow. Lada padded after him.

In Godric’s Hollow, Harry and Hermione had just finished paying their respects at his parents’ grave. Snow fell steadily, muffling the village and deepening the chill in Harry’s chest.

As they left the graveyard, they saw Bathilda Bagshot standing in the middle of the lane. The weathered old witch wandered back and forth as if waiting for them.

Harry hurried to catch up. Hermione clearly did not want to, but she followed.

"Harry, something is wrong with her," she whispered.

"She knew Dumbledore. Maybe she has the sword," Harry said.

He turned and, over Bathilda’s shoulder, saw the ruined house.

The Potters’ ancestral home.

Since Lily and James’ deaths, it had stood untended, sagging into rubble.

"I remember this place. This is where Voldemort killed my parents," Harry said, running his fingers over the fence.

Hermione watched him, worry in her eyes.

A boot crunched on snow.

They both turned. Bathilda was coming toward them.

"You are Bathilda?" Harry asked.

He followed her into the house.

Inside it was dark, damp and reeking of rot. An oily, unsettling stench hung in the air.

Harry tried to ignore it. He had questions.

"Do you know…" he began.

Something in a frame on the sideboard caught his eye. The man in the photograph was the thief whose face he had seen in Tom’s memories.

"Hermione, I think you should see this—" he called, turning toward the stairs.

Bathilda’s body began to writhe.

Her skin sagged, shrinking like a punctured balloon. Her robes fell in a heap.

A massive snake burst out of the clothes, fangs bared, launching itself at Harry.

Downstairs, Hermione had just found Bathilda’s real corpse. She fired a Blasting Curse that blew a hole in the ceiling, then Apparated up through it, landing on the upstairs floor and hitting the snake with a Severing spell that blew its coils apart.

"It is too tough. And that resistance to magic… it is a Horcrux, Harry!" she shouted.

Harry’s spells were sliding off it as well.

"I know!"

He lunged for his dropped wand. The snake whipped round, body coiling tight around his waist.

Hermione saw where his hand was reaching. She sprinted, scooped up the wand and, just as the snake struck for Harry’s throat, a beam of white light edged in black slammed into its head and blew it away from him.

"Hey," Ron said, lowering his wand.

"Ron Weasley," Hermione said.

She surged to her feet, fury washing out the last of her fear.

"Move. We have to get out of here," Lada said.

She rose up through the floor, a sigil glowing on her fur. Mind-force flowed out, dragging all three of them down into the Sea of Consciousness.

The world spun.

A heartbeat later, Harry, Ron and Hermione stood once more in the little wood where they had hidden before.

As soon as they were safe, Hermione swung and punched Ron in the face, knocking him flat.

"Hermione, calm down. Calm down," Harry said.

He stepped between them and caught her raised wand hand. With his free hand, he unclasped the Horcrux from her neck.

"I will carry it for now," he said.

"Anything else you want to say, Ron Weasley?" Hermione said, arms folded.

“That one... I deserved it,” Ron said, pushing himself up.

"Listen. I am sorry. I should not have walked out on you. The moment I did, I wanted to come back. I just… could not find you."

"How did you find us now?" Harry asked.

He could not quite forget Ron had just saved his life.

"I went to look for Aiden and ran into Lada. She clocked me one, properly. That shook me up. Then I heard a voice. Your voice," Ron said, looking straight at Hermione.

"I heard you calling my name. I knew I had to come back."

Hermione’s brow eased a fraction. She did not answer. She turned on her heel and stalked away.

Harry took Ron back to the tent and helped him stash his things.

"How long do you think she will stay angry?" Ron asked.

"Tell her again that you heard her calling you. Might speed it up," Harry said, managing a crooked grin.

"Git," Ron said, shoving him lightly.

"Anyway, have you found the Sword of Gryffindor?"

"No. Dumbledore never told us where he hid it," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Oh, the Sword of Gryffindor. That is with me," Lada said, trotting in with a fish in her mouth.

"What?"

All three of them yelped at once and closed in on her.

"Where? Get it out," Harry said, snatching her up.

Hermione and Ron exchanged a look and, as one, started rubbing her belly.

“Hahaha—stop it! Put me down, or I’ll start hitting people,” Lada said.

The laughter turned to a growl. Dragon scales rippled under her fur. A moment later, three sharp cat punches sent each of them flying.

Three paw-shaped bruises appeared on their cheeks, thin wisps of smoke curling up from the marks.

Lada shook her head. A sigil glowed on her forehead.

Reality seemed to split open there. A sword slid out of her skull and dropped onto the ground.

"There. Take it," she said.