The Adopted Weasley

4~ We Don't Know What We're Doing

"Well it could be anything!" Harry insisted. "And if he was smart, he would've done that."

"Mate, I don't think that's what he used." Ron said.

Harry was about to insist again when Grace spoke up.

"Harry, I highly doubt he made a leaf a horcrux. He's too sentimental." Grace said, glancing up from her book. 

"Oh, yeah. I guess you're right."

"And you guys barely made it out of the ministry in time, I think it's best to lay low for a bit." She added

"Grace is right." Hermione said quietly. "Besides, Ron needs the rest."

"I'm fine!" Ron protested.

"You're not fine." Sirius said firmly. "You need your rest."

"I agree with Sirius." Harry said.

Grace nodded as well.

Ron groaned in frustration and his eyes flashed. 

"Fine, gang up on me. Can't do anything right around here. And Harry, why the hell didn't you agree till Grace spoke up? I said basically the exact same thing! She's not as smart as she thinks she is.

"Ronald!" Hermione exclaimed. "Grace just made another point. That's it. You-"

"It's fine Hermione, he didn't mean it." Grace said quickly. 

She stood up and forced him to take the horcrux necklace off before putting it on herself.

"Feel better?" 

He took a deep breath and looked down. 

"Yeah, thanks. I'm sorry."

"No problem. This is a dark item, we need to be more careful about switching it around. It's going to turn everyone against each other."

She sat back down, trying to ignore the heavy thoughts the locket was now putting in her mind. She pulled her knees against her chest. 

"Gracie, let me take it." Sirius said softly. 

"I'm fine, it's my turn."

"You're already feeling depressed, it's really not good for you to-"

"Sirius, just because you're evidently my biological dad doesn't mean you can control me! And you're in a worse spot mentally than I am!"

Grace left the tent in a huff, after a shocked minute, Harry followed, finding her sitting on a rock nearby. 

"Grace?"

"Yes, it was me talking, not the necklace."

"Okay."

He kept quiet but sat next to her, waiting. Then couldn't anymore. 

"So, Sirius is your dad?"

"Yup."

"Do you think your dad- David, knows?"

"No. if he did, I'd be dead. He never would've kept me around."

"Oh."

"He's not a good man, Harry. He was abusive." Grace said quietly, pulling her hair forward so he could see the scars on her neck. "Cruciatus curse. And worse."

"Oh..."

"Also, my dad is Arthur Weasley. It may not be necessarily Sirius's fault that he wasn't around, but he wasn't. Dad was."

Harry just nodded and half hugged her before standing and leaving her alone with her thoughts.

The wind brushed against her cheeks and she let a few tears escape. She missed Lee and her family more than she ever thought was possible.

It had been nearly six months since she had seen Charlie, two weeks since anyone else. While she had gone longer, knowing that it'd be months more was sickening. 

Grace bit back a frustrated groan. Neville. She hadn't seen him since May and she hadn't told him she was leaving, and she doubted that anyone would think to do so.

But there was no way to tell him.

Summer turned into autumn, and with it came chilly nights, they had learned to trade the necklace off every twelve hours or so. Harry jokingly referred to it as a dreaded game of pass the parcel, no one seemed to find it very amusing.

Most of their time was spent traveling around the countryside and discussing possible Horcruxes. Knowing Voldermort was the sentimental type,they also discussed every significant place in his life that they knew of. They had ruled out anything in Borgin and Burke's since the owners would've recognized it immediately and most likely turned it into the authorities since they wanted to stay on the Ministry's good side. 

The orphanage he had grown up in, Hogwarts, Albania where he had been in exile.

"I really think Hogwarts could be the right place." Harry said for the third time. "It was his first home away from home, safety really."

"Harry, Hogwarts is not home to everyone like it is to you!" Ron snapped. "Stop expecting everyone to have the same experience."

Him, Harry and Hermione all argued for an hour or longer before Grace got fed up and went back into the tent, muttering to herself angrily.

Sirius had been sitting at the table looking at a book, but closed it when he saw Grace and stood, and walked across the room to her.

"You need to let go."

Grace didn't argue, just fell against him and started crying. 

"I hate this, I want to go home but I can't. I'm worried, we haven't heard anything for months and we can't reach out either."

Sirius didn't say anything, he knew she wouldn't go back even if she was forced, she'd find a way back.

The trio suddenly ran back in, pale faced, before they could explain, Sirius held his hand up.

Grace could hear voices outside.