of Horcruxes had shown her the concept's grey areas; a far cry from the black and white
demarcations that Hermione had previously believed about life and death.
One thing was certain: there was no possible way to bring back Albus Dumbledore.
Nevertheless, something in the book called out to her.
After skimming a few paragraphs, Hermione perused the rest of the volume with
great interest. If they were going to hunt and destroy the things keeping Voldemort
connected to this world, she wanted to know as much about life and death as possible, so
as to take down the Dark Lord without losing anyone else in the process.
There was an informative chapter on the Killing Curse that went into detail on how
to use it and its physical effects before and after death. While there was no mention of
survival, there was a small, handwritten note at the bottom of one page. In the script she
had come to recognise as the hand of her former headmaster, read: Sacrificial Love: Lily
Potter, 1981.
Eager to avoid the reminder of how and why they had ended up in this situation,
Hermione snapped the book shut. Chores needed to be tended to. While she had been able
to avoid most of the Weasleys thus far—especially since they were walking on eggshells
around her after discovering that she had Obliviated her parents—it was time to face the
rest of the world.
Hermione stood, adding the volume to a stack that continued to grow in the corner
of Ron's bedroom. All the books she had brought from her home and Hogwarts were
heaped on top of one another in organised piles, waiting to be either set aside or packed
for the Horcrux hunt. When she made to leave the room, the books tumbled onto the floor
behind her. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she turned to clean the mess, noticing as she
did that the volume she was just reading had fallen open. The chapter title on display caught
her attention, and she narrowed her eyes:
Life Debts
Pulling the text back into her arms, she scanned the words carefully.A magical bond formed between a wizard or witch and the person
whose life he or she saved. The one who owes the debt to the saviour is one
day obliged to repay the deed by performing something beneficial to or for
said saviour. Such a bond can be formed between even the worst of enemies,