Lion,Tiger and... dragon - 3

He still hoped that Hermione would come up with some brilliant plan, but as of yet they'd found nothing to change his mind. He found it profoundly ironic that now – at what was most likely the end of his life – he finally had such an intense desire to live. In the past, although he'd certainly never wanted to die, he'd never had any great passion for living. It had never mattered much either way to him.

Now, it mattered.

As he grew closer to Ginny, the more he thought that having to say goodbye to her would do him in without Voldemort ever getting involved. Still, he wouldn't trade this time he'd spent with her. If he couldn't give her forever, he could at least give her now, and he wanted to make every moment worth the memory.

"I don't see why we didn't just Apparate inside and wait there," Ron moaned for about the hundredth time.

"Honestly, Ron," said Ginny, exasperated. "For the last time, we don't know if there is anyone still working inside. If there is, they should be going home now."

"Besides, there are Anti-Apparation wards in place," Harry said, running a hand through his hair.

"How do you know?" Hermione asked, suddenly looking up from her sandwich.

Harry stared at her, feeling slightly confused. "That humming sound, don't you hear it? It's the same sound I always heard at Privet Drive. I can hear it near the gates at Hogwarts, too. I reckon it's the wards, right?"

All three pairs of eyes stared at him in astonishment.

"You…you can hear the wards?" Ron asked, finally.

A wave of apprehension went down Harry's spine. Not again. "Can't you?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

All three shook their heads, Hermione frowning.

"Look, we can discuss this later," Ginny said finally, taking charge. "If there are Anti-Apparation wards in place, how do you propose we get inside?"

"Are you the sister of Fred and George Weasley or what?" Harry asked, grinning as he pulled a hairpin from his pocket. "They showed me how to do this after you lot rescued me from the Dursleys before second year."

"Figures they'd show you and not me," Ron grumbled.

The twins had done their job well, and it took Harry only a moment to pick the lock on the front door. The four quickly and quietly slipped inside the museum, closing the heavy door behind them.

"Well, here we are," Ron whispered, staring around the room at all the old artifacts. The light from the street lamps cast long shadows on the walls, and the air was thick with tension.

Harry could understand Ron's urge to whisper, he felt it, too and had to force himself to overcome it. A prickle of apprehension ran down his spine as he moved further into the room.

"Come on. Let's spread out and start looking. Ron, you wear the Spell Detector again," Harry said. "Hermione and Ginny, just keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary, and we can double check it with the Spell Detector."

They all nodded and fanned out, although Hermione appeared doubtful. Harry shut his eyes, envisioning the scene from the Pensieve. Riddle had met Hepzibah Smith in a sitting room, and it couldn't have been too close to the entry hall since the little house-elf, Hokey, had taken a few minutes to retrieve Riddle when the doorbell had rung.

Harry wandered away from the other three, peeking into several rooms until finally entering a small room located off the main hallway. The hairs on the back of his neck rose the moment he entered.