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Title: Harry's search for Horcruxes

Contributors: bloodyboypotter

Edited by: Andrew Jager

Posted: 2005-10-05

Game Date: Mid- to Late-July

Disclaimer: No one at Levicorpus owns Harry Potter, the world or its characters. We just like to play in J.K. Rowling’s world..

* * * * * * *

For one bright, shining moment he had been dreaming he was at the Burrow, that he was laying in one of the Weasley's beds, listening to the attic ghoul as he walked on the creaking floor boards. But the moment faded as he felt cold wind rustle through his untidy hair, and the trees rustle ominously. He gave an involuntary shudder and closed his cloak tighter about himself.

He raised a gaunt looking hand to his forehead and rubbed feebly at his aching scar. He'd been having so many of these scar moments that it was getting easier to distinguish what sort of mood Voldemort was in. A different sort of pain for each of Voldemort’s moods. If he killed, if he was pleased, if he was upset ... all of them had a different sort of scar prick feeling to them. Although he was shut off from any visions, the scar pain could not be easily turned off, or so Harry imagined. Or, perhaps Voldemort just knew that Harry suffered, and decided to keep that little link active between the two of them.

Harry looked to his left, a pile of discarded Daily Prophet's lay under his tattered school bag. Reaching inside, he pulled out the last bits of his food and ate slowly. Another rush of wind, accompanied by a soft spray of the sea awakened him just a bit more. As he looked out ahead of him, he could just make out a faint moving spot in the sky. Instantly, before the shape became anything more, Harry's wand was in his hand, held so tightly that his knuckles were white. As the shape drew closer, he could feel his heart beat thumping loudly in his ears.

A soft hoot came rolling towards him from the direction of the shape, and Harry dropped his wand in relief.

"Hedwig ... " he whispered, smiling exhaustedly as his snowy owl came into clearer view, holding a rather grand package tied to her leg. Harry slowly stood, yet seemed very unsteady on his feet. Holding out his arm, Hedwig came in for a smooth landing upon it, and Harry's arm drooped dramatically from the weight of the package and the owl upon it. He quickly untied the package and set it down, then transferred Hedwig to his shoulder and gazed out over the landscape as the sun slowly began to peak out over the horizon. A deep, churning sea, a high grassy cliff overlooking it. Mountains in the distance. It all reminded him of Hogwarts. But he was nowhere near home.

"You think we'll find them?" he asked his only traveling companion, raising his hand up to stroke her feathers calmly. She gave a soft hoot in reply and scooted closer to his head, letting her feathers brush Harry's cheeks. A small grin spread over his lips and Hedwig nipped affectionately at his ear. Harry then sat down to open his care package from Mrs. Weasley. Pulling out Ginny's cupcakes, he plucked the letter that was tied to her package and opened it. His smile widened as he read the letter out loud to Hedwig (and really, to himself. He missed the busy sounds of the commonroom, or of the ever bustling Burrow), listening to her voice ring through his head at her words. He brought the parchment up to his nose and smelled that flowery scent of hers. Before he could prevent it, a few tears had escaped the corners of his eyes. He tried to blink them away, but could not and let out a soft choked sob.

Dear Harry,

Hedwig finally arrived, so here's the basket of food as promised. I've included some cupcakes I made with a little help from Duncan Hines. The icing, however, I made completely on my own. Which means you know it's mostly powdered sugar and chocolate, but never the less, Ron thinks they turned out pretty well. I thought about decorating them, but all the other icing in this house is pink, white, gold, or some other heinous color that Fleur thinks her wedding should be. And as I'm sure you've heard, she's quite intent on stuffing me into a similarly heinous dress the day of.

Speaking of which, Ron says you're coming down early, but he never said when "early" was, so I thought you'd be the person to ask. Of course, you'll know that the wedding is the twentieth, school starts at the beginning of September, and we all really miss you, so you should plan accordingly. Especially if you're going to let my mother fatten you up before school starts. She may need a few weeks, and it would be cruel of you to deny her the pleasure of doing it personally.

But that's not really the only reason I'm writing. And it's also not because I desperately need reinforcements against Fleur. I just wanted to remind you that we are all here for you if need anything throughout the next few weeks, months, years, whatever. We're all in this together, and I appreciate your concern for my safety and our safety, but we're not going anywhere. I guess you could say we really sort of care about you, or something. Don't forget that you're never really alone. We'll talk more when you get here.

Sincerely,
Ginny

P.S. - I saw Romilda Vane at the Market yesterday, and she asked about you. I told her to sod off. I hope you don't mind.

Her simple letter to him was dotted with tear drops now, obscuring her writing. Gathering himself together, he slipped the letter into his bag and set the cupcakes aside for later.

Inside Mrs. Weasley's care package was food that could've easily served a family of four (or one Dudley). He pulled out one warm meat pie and took a big bite out of it. Nearly groaning from the taste, he inhaled it quickly. A flagon of pumpkin juice was also included. Harry nearly drank the whole thing in 3 gulps. "Ow!" he exclaimed as he felt Hedwig's talons bite into his shoulder, "Alright, alright ... " He pulled out another meat pie and ripped it in half, holding it up to Hedwig who began to nip at the crust and the meat inside. It seemed Hedwig was quite fond of Mrs. Weasley's cooking as well.

They both ate their fill by the time the sun had risen. Harry gathered up what food he didn't eat and shrunk it to fit neatly into his bag for later. He nuzzled his cheek against Hedwig's wing, "Hey, mind doing a quick survey for me?" She gave a gentle hoot and took off, being careful not to rip at Harry's shoulder with her departure.

Sighing heavily, Harry began to walk down the hill he had used for his bed. With fresh, warm food in his belly, he was sure he could travel farther and longer. As Hedwig circled around, looking out for possible threats, Harry headed along the edge of a forest, towards the mountains. If this search took him to another dead end, he would have no choice but to return home empty handed. He pulled out one of Ginny's cupcakes and took a bite, savoring the sweet chocolate and cake just as he had the meat pies.

He really missed them. He missed her most of all.

* * * * * * *

Walking all day made him hungry once again. Stopping just past the end of the massive forest, the sun getting lower and lower in the sky, Harry settled down for more meat pies, pumpkin juice and another one of Ginny's cupcakes.

As he rested, his mind began to wander. Hedwig had been gone for a long time. The last he'd seen of her, she was flying so high that Harry could barely make her out. Before long, his mind wandered to the point of dozing off.

At first he drempt once more he was at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley's smiling face shining at him as he walked into the house through the front door. Everyone was there. They were all congratulating him, for reasons unknown. George had passed him a butterbeer and gave him a heartly slap on the back in a congratulatory sort of way. The feeling was warm and happy, everyone seemed to be smiling. Even Harry himself couldn't supress his grin.

Soon, the dream shifted. He was walking up the stairs of Grimmauld Place. It was dark, Kreacher had neglected to light the candles now that no one lived there. He passed a room where something like an eerie, smokey wind was being sucked into nothingness. It appeared that the room lead into a black hole, or something to that effect.

As he drew closer, he heard a voice behind him and spun around quickly. "Hey, Harry ... " came the familiar voice of Ginny. He smiled when he saw her, but then focused on what she had wrapped around herself. At first glance it appeared to be a snake skin scarf, until he watched it move and shift around her. It was wrapped around her neck and both arms, yet she was smiling. Blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth, and she seemed completely unaware that she had a giant snake wrapped around herself. Before Harry could react and take the snake off of her, the head rose and looked directly at him. The moment he made eye contact with the large snake, Harry felt seering pain simultaniously in his neck, arm, and scar. And he also heard a scream. Ginny's scream.

His eyes flew open and Harry realized that he had been screaming too. Birds in the tree he'd been leaning against took flight in alarm. The throbbing pain still remained well after the dream had lifted and he instantly looked down at his arm.

It was the strangest sensation he'd ever felt. It was as though a thin, pulsing, invisible rope - or snake - had coiled itself around Harry's arm. He reached out to touch it, to see if there really was something there, and he felt nothing. But it was unmistakable that there was something there, for his arm was pulsing with pain. He reached a hand up to his neck, where he also felt pain. When he pulled his hand away there was no sign of blood, but he could swear it felt like he'd been bitten.

Finally, he reached for his scar. One touch to it brought sudden, surprising relief to his arm and neck, giving him even more reason to worry about what just happened. The last time he drempt of snakes, he had been in the mind of one and had attacked Mr. Weasley. But he was sure this was not the same situation. It had been a dream, and not one of his prescient experiences. He rubbed at his scar until it was raw, fighting within his addled mind about what that could've been. Not only that, but it lasted beyond the point that he had awakened. That had never happened before. Perhaps this was a new level of his rather unfortunate ability to see things before they happen?

Glancing towards the sky, Harry devised that it was getting late already. He needed to find a place to hide for the night and would just have to go to the mansion tomorrow. He stood up and searched the sky for Hedwig. Seeing no sign of her, he frowned and continued his walk all the while unable to get the vision of Ginny wrapped up in what could've only been Nagini's reptilian body out of his mind.

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