She forced herself to swallow and tried again. “It's — it's a soul shard, Harry. There's — there's a piece of Tom's soul inside you.”
Harry's jaw went slack, and he turned grey as he continued to stare at the projection in front of him.
Hermione swallowed, and her jaw trembled. She twisted her wand in her hands with shaking fingers. “The — the soul gets torn when the Killing Curse is used. Because of the way the curse backfired when you were a baby, a piece must have gotten severed. Normally it would be placed inside an object — but if it was just left there — it must have latched itself onto the only living thing there and tried to integrate itself with you.”
Her chest felt so tight she could barely breathe. “I'm so sorry. I should have realised sooner. I should have — if I'd realised — I'm so sorry, Harry.”
Harry sat as though frozen as he stared at his magical signature and the parasitic soul fragment that wound around and through it. Hermione's tongue was curdled in her mouth, as though she were about to be sick.
She tried to think of something, of anything. There had to be some way to get it out, to remove it without killing Harry.
Draco might have a book in his library that she could use. The Resistance would fall back and leave Hogwarts. She had to get Harry away and buy herself time to research; there might be something she could do. She just needed to get Harry away. Then she could go to Draco.
“Of course.” Harry gave a small laugh that roused Hermione from her thoughts. “Of course — that's how it is. 'Neither can live while the other survives.' I should have guessed.” He made a sound, and Hermione wasn't sure if it was another laugh or a sob. He stood up, banishing the projections around him with a flick of his own wand. Then he raised a hand and pressed the heel against his scar.
“All this time — I thought I was the Chosen One because Tom and I were similar. Half Bloods, orphans, twin wandcores, parselmouths...” His voice trailed off, and he gave a low laugh. “All this time — I thought I'd defeat him by rejecting Dark Magic and always choosing light — even when I felt like I was going mad from the draw of it. I thought that was what it was about. That it was something like that.” Harry made a choking sound. “Of course it wasn't.”
There was a silence like a stopped heart.
Then there was an agonized scream in the distance that ripped the air apart.
“Harry! We've gotta go,” Ron yelled through the warded tent opening.
Harry looked up sharply, but his eyes were far away as though he were in a dream. He looked at Hermione and only seemed to be half-aware of her. “You'll take care of Ginny, won't you? And tell Ron, afterwards, he was the best partner a bloke could ask for.”
He started towards the door, and Hermione realised with freezing horror what Harry intended to do. She flung herself in front of him, gripping his arms and forcing him to stop.
“No, Harry. No. I can fix this. We got the horcrux in Hogwarts. We'll fall back. Give me some time, and I'll find a way to remove it. I'm sure there's a way. I will make a way. Harry — Harry.” She tried to force him to look into her eyes. “You're not going to die today.”
Harry reached up and touched her face with his fingertips. He studied her as though he were memorising her. As though he hadn't seen her in years and never expected to see her again.
“You're a good friend, Hermione. You've always believed in me. Even more than I did sometimes.”
She flinched away from his touch. “We'll send word to Moody and have everyone pull out before more Death Eaters arrive. Harry — you have to let me try to find a way to remove it.”
Harry shook his head and gave a wistful smile. “He's in my head, Hermione. The connection we have, it's in my brain. There's no safe way to reverse long-term Dark Magic in the brain. That's what you said after you tried to heal Arthur.”
Hermione's fingers twitched.
“I'll find a way. I will invent it if I have to.” Hermione's voice shook with intensity. “You have to let me try.”
Harry grasped her wrist and firmly pulled her hands off him. “Hermione — I told you this morning, today is the day. This is how it's supposed to be. Neither can live, neither will survive. This is how it was always supposed to be.”
“No, it's not. We can keep fighting. We'll pull out—”
He stared at her, his face serious. “People died today, Hermione. They've been dying for years, fighting for me, protecting me, coming here so I could get into Hogwarts. My whole life — people have died trying to protect me. I can't let anyone else die for me — not when I know I have the power to stop all of this. This war can't go longer. It has to end. This — is what I'm supposed to do.”
He looked down at the ground, and the resolution in his expression fractured somewhat. “You'll take care of Ginny, won't you? And tell her — tell her she'll be what I'm thinking of — to the very end.”
He started to move past her, but Hermione grabbed him again. Her throat closed, as though her desperation was strangling her.