Dormitory, wondering whether the intensity with which he gazed at it might break into

Her sleep, that she would somehow know he was thinking about her, hoping that she was

All right.

By day, hey devoted themselves to trying to determine the possible locations of

Gryffindor's sword, but the more they talked about the places in which Dumbledore

Might have hidden it, the more desperate and far-fetched their speculation became.

Cudgel his brains though he might, Harry could not remember Dumbledore ever

Mentioning a place in which he might hide something. There were moments when he did

Not know whether he was angrier with Ron or with Dumbledore. We thought you knew

What you were doing ...We thought Dumbledore had told you what to do ... We thought

you had a real plan!

He could not hide it from himself: Ron had been right. Dumbledore had left him

With virtually nothing. They had discovered one Horcrux, but they had no means of

destroying it: The others were as unattainable as they had ever been. Hopelessness

Threatened to engulf him. He was staggered now to think of his own presumption in

accepting his friends' offers to accompany him on this meandering, pointless journey. he

Knew nothing, he had no ideas, and he was constantly, painfully on the alert for any

Indications that Hermione too was about to tell him that she had had enough. That she

Was leaving.

They were spending many evenings in near silence and Hermione took to bringing out

Phineas Nigellus's portrait and propping it up in a chair, as though he might fill part of

the gaping hole left by Ron's departure. Despite his previous assertion that he would

Never visit them again, Phineas Nigellus did not seem able to resist the chance to find out

More about what Harry was up to and consented to reappear, blindfolded, every few days

Of so. Harry was even glad to see him, because he was company, albeit of a snide and

Taunting kind. They relished any news about what was happening at Hogwarts, though

Phineas Nigellus was not an ideal informer. He venerated Snape, the first Slytherin

Headmaster since he himself had controlled the school, and they had to be careful not to

Criticize or ask impertinent questions about Snape, or Phineas Nigellus would instantly

Leave his painting.

However, he did let drop certain snippets. Snape seemed to be facing a constant,

Low level of mutiny from a hard core of students. Ginny had been banned from going into

Hogsmeade. Snape had reinstated Umbridge's old decree forbidding gatherings of three

Or more students or any unofficial student societies. From all of these things, Harry

Deduced that Ginny, and probably Neville and Luna along with her, had been doing their

best to continue Dumbledore's Army. This scant news made Harry want to see Ginny so

Badly it felt like a stomachache; but it also made him think of Ron again, and of

Dumbledore, and of Hogwarts itself, which he missed nearly as much as his ex-girlfriend.

Indeed, as Phineas Niggellus talked about Snape's crackdown, Harry experienced a split

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 695