Quidditch Leage Competition - Season 2

Team: Bellycastle Bats

Position: Chaser 1

Hocrux: Slytherin's Locket

Wordcount: 1852 words

Bonus prompts:2. (word) consolidate; 5. (word) freedom; 12. (colour) magenta

stupid Locket and freaking Ring

"Man, do tell me why you hide that ring here," the dark-haired man looked at his best friend who was on the floor looking through every box.

"I've told you a countless times already Harry, you could help instead of being a prat," he replied, while he didn't even look up.

"And once again, why can't we just use our wands?" Harry asked curiously, while he leaned back against the column. The redhead sighed, and looked up, while the other started laughing, because his best friend's hair became a shocking grey thank to all the filth.

"It's a really old and special ring; there are countless spells on it. I still can't believe my great-aunt gave it to me, but I know that Mione would love it," he stated, and his amused friend just stayed where he was with a smirk on his face.

"It was time you know, ever since our wedding everyone was waiting for you to propose, but..." he was cut off, when Ron stiffened and let out a sigh. Harry took a step closer to his friend, who was pale, even his freckles seemed to disappear from his face, he was so white. He seemed to hold something in his hands, but Harry couldn't see what. He got behind his friend, who was shaking and saw that it was some parchment.

"Is everything okay, Ron?" he asked softly. He first wanted to ask jokingly if he has found of his Potions essay which turned out to be a catastrophe, but when he saw his friend's expression he didn't do it.

"N-no," Ron said eventually. Harry sat down next to his friend, but his mate was holding those parchments so tightly, that he couldn't see them. Instead he looked at the chest which was full of unused or broken pieces of the past. He saw a magenta scarf he couldn't place, but other than that he could recognize everything.

"What's that Ron?" he asked, trying to sound casual, but he failed. His friend tossed the papers to him, which fell on the floor. Harry picked up curiously, especially after he looked at his friend.

It's my turn again, that stupid locket is around my neck, the one we are unable to destroy. We have found it, we have done it. It should have been easy after that, right? It's not!

Harry looked at all the other parchments, there were about a dozen full with his friend's nearly unreadable letters.

"What's this?" Harry questioned Ron, who didn't meet his eyes for a moment.

"Just things I've written during our hunt. Most of them were written when it was my time to wear that stupid locket," he said gently, so lowly, that Harry had a hard time catching the words. "I don't even know how they ended up here. I always remembered that I actually burned these all those years ago," he stated sadly. Harry looked at the papers in his hand and the caught the eyes of the redhead.

"You can read if you want, I guess. It's not like you don't know what was going through my head at that time," Ron stated, but he shook his head, and gave every one of them in order to his friend who looked at him strangely. "You aren't interested?" he asked, and Harry smiled softly.

"You should show it to someone else. I don't think I'm the person who should read it. I forgave you many years ago, Ron. That someone else did too, but I'm sure she needs it more than I do. She is the one who will live with you for the rest of her life," he said with a chuckle, and Ron nodded with a grateful smile.

"You are right, mate. Though, I'm not sure if she ever forgave me entirely." Harry looked in his friend's eyes.

"She did." He then turned around and left the redhead alone, who turned back towards the chests and laughed out, when he noticed the ring which was right under the parchments.

When that night Hermione came home from work after quick greeting he gave the parchments to her. She looked questioningly at him.

"I want you to read it. I... I think you should read this," he said knowing that he has blushed under Hermione's glance.

"I'm not sure what's this is, but sure, I will read it," she said and she wanted to put down them to the table having dinner before reading the stock of paper, but Ron stopped her.

"Now, please," he begged, so with a nod she sat down and started reading. She froze and looked up at her boyfriend after reading the first paragraph.

We aren't doing anything. We just toss around that freaking locket and make a trip around Great Britain, while Ginny is at Hogwarts with Death Eaters ready to kill her any moment, and my whole family is in danger.

"You have written this, really?" she asked not believing what he has just shared with her. He nodded, and sat down next to her on the coach. She leaned against him while continuing reading it.

That stupid locket is so heavy. I hate wearing it; I hate it that it reminds me of our failure. Failure, it's really a great word to describe what's happening. We sit around, we make plans, those plans fail and we start again.

We, the Boy-Who-Lived, the only remaining person He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is afraid, the smartest witch in our generation, probably in many, really, and me, the failure.

"Oh, Ron," she said it before she has even finished the first page. He put his hands around her and she snuggled closer to him. "You aren't a failure, you never were." He just laughed out and she looked up at him.

"Well, being friends with you and Harry never helped my self-esteem. You two were just always better in pretty much everything than me. You with your intelligence and Harry with his fame, bravery and really, talent. I was never even sure why you were my friends, I felt that I was less than you," he stated and she felt horribly, because she knew that she didn't help with always telling how smart and successful she was.

She turned back to the papers, which meant already so much to her.

Harry and Hermione. I always knew that they were perfect for each other, who couldn't see it? He was famous, talented, and well-off and she, well she was the type of girl only Harry could get, never me. Right now, I'm sitting close to the tent with the freaking locket while they are flirting, Hermione is chuckling and Harry is laughing. It just consolidates all my thoughts. He leans closer to her, and I can see how he wants to kiss her, and all I want to do is break them apart and destroy the medal.

"You do realize it now, that I never looked at Harry in that way and I'm pretty sure and hopeful that he hasn't seen me in any other way than platonic either," she said and he nodded, while he kissed her bushy hair.

"It just seemed so much more believable than you liking me. Plus, don't forget the hocrux, it didn't help me thinking straight either." She turned towards him and put her arms around his neck, and kissed him with all the love she felt for him, he kissed her back just as lovingly, and when they finally broke apart in need of oxygen she continued reading his thoughts.

Freedom. That's what I want, what I need. To be free from the locket, to be free from this hunt, from Harry and Hermione, from seeing the two of them together.

I feel anger constantly, I'm angry at myself for joining this stupid expedition, at Harry for being the hero always, at Hermione for loving Harry, at Dumbledore for sending us here.

Harry and Hermione – the two of them are so smart together of course. They say that the locket is controlling me. That's stupid, I'm all well, and I'm just fed up with everything. My family could have been already dead without me knowing while we are having a picnic somewhere in Scotland, I think.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said and he stopped stroking her cheeks.

"Why? You never did anything wrong. I was the one to leave," he stated, but she shook her head.

"It was our fault too. The locket and the stress of the whole war affected us too and none of us was behaving normally. I was angry at you after you have left for so long, even though you were the only one to do every one of us was thinking," she told him, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"Well, we were teenagers at the middle of a war. We all had some anger management issues at that time, I guess. Add a hocrux constantly influencing us and you get what has happened. I didn't give these to you to make you feel sorry for me. I just wanted you to understand why I left you there all alone. Harry says that you have forgiven me, maybe you think too, but I'm not sure," he said, and she kissed him once again, this time more forcefully and passionately.

"Not a teaspoon, definitely not," she muttered and he chuckled. "Thank you Ronald."

"For what?" he asked and she smiled.

"For being the amazing person you are, the man I love," she said, but before he could answer she was already reading once again.

We have one hocrux in our hands. Okay, technically most of the time it's around our neck. That's not enough. That stupid snake-man is alive and kicking, while we struggle to destroy one of the pieces of his soul (not that I can even believe him to have anything like that).

We are so far from destroying this one, and it seems impossible to have them all in time, before he is unstoppable. Not that he isn't already.

Stupid locket, stupid hocrux, stupid madman... stupid life.

She read the next several pages without looking up. Tears were running down her face, but she didn't care. She was once again eighteen, fighting a war, wearing a piece of the soul of the evilest wizard ever to live.

I have given it up. We won't win. We won't survive.

She put down the papers and looked up to Ron, who wiped off her tears.

"It is okay, Mione. We have won, we are here," he said and she gave him a teary smile.

"Yes, we are here together," she agreed. He played with her hair and looked in her beautiful brown eyes.

"Hermione Granger, would you do me honour and share the rest of your life with me? Would you marry me?" he asked and she didn't even breathe for a moment.

"Of course, yes!" she answered with a smile and he started looking for the ring in his pocket and swore under his breath.

"I have lost it again."