"Best we get inside quickly, they're all probably waiting." said Mr. Weasley cheerfully as he opened the door with a tap of his wand.
Number twelve, Grimmauld Place was unusually quiet tonight. As Harry made his way through the hall that led to the kitchens, all he could hear was the sound of hurried whispers and quiet mutterings.
"- trying to throw Master Regulus' locket away." muttered a voice from somewhere to the left of Harry, "And Mistress Bellatrix's photo, and Mistress Cissy's as well. Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't -"
"Shut it!" roared Sirius as he made his way down the staircase. He noticed Harry almost immediately, quickly moving down so as to speak to him.
"Well?" asked the man impatiently, his eyes betraying the countless emotions that swarmed within him, "Cleared?"
"Cleared." said Harry with a grin.
A smug grin grew upon Sirius' face as he wrapped his arms around Harry, laughing happily. He patted his godson's back merrily before pointing towards the door, an arm still on Harry's shoulder.
"They're all waiting for you in there." he whispered quietly, "All worried senseless. I reckon Jones' pulled out all of her hair by now."
He chuckled softly, shaking his head before turning to face Kreacher. The house elf was standing in front of a small cupboard, a small box of trinkets partially obscured by his small body.
"I'll deal with whatever Kreacher's up to, I'll be with you all in a bit." said Sirius, "Be careful when you walk past the portraits, mind you. Mum's in a bad mood again."
Harry nodded, hastily following after Mr. Weasley as he led the way down the hall.
"What's wrong with Sirius' mum now?" Harry asked curiously, noting how lifeless the portrait in question appeared (although, to be fair, it was hidden behind a thick sheet of curtains).
"She's been in a foul mood since we turned this place into headquarters." said Mr. Weasley, shaking his head, "Always going on about muggles, doesn't realize how brilliant they are. Sirius covered her downstairs portrait with curtains, so she's taken to staying in her portrait in the library."
"I hear her from time to time." noted Harry, thinking back to the angry yells of the portrait that had woken him several nights during his stay at the house.
"Yes, well, there's not much we can do about that, I'm afraid." said Arthur, "We don't know much about the library, specifically what protections it has. We can't find anything, but it still isn't worth the risk. Sirius says his mother wouldn't dare let him access the library - we probably wouldn't be able to so much as read any of the books!"
Harry nodded thoughtfully.
"But we've got more pleasant things on our plate at the moment." said Mr. Weasley kindly, "You're cleared, after all! We don't have to watch over you much anymore - although you won't be allowed to go to Diagon Alley alone, what with everything that happened in June."
"It shouldn't be much of a problem." said Harry quickly, "I've already got my stuff - Owl Order. I can get everything else at any time."
"I suppose so." said Mr. Weasley, nodding his thanks as Harry moved his hand towards the door.
Harry opened the door to find the kitchen filled to the brim. The rather large dining table was covered in food, though no one who sat down (which was more than a dozen people) had so much as touched it. It seemed as though every member of the Order of the Phoenix was present, as well as the Weasleys and Hermione.
All of their eyes turned towards Harry, most of their owners seemingly scared out of their wits. Even Ron seemed slightly concerned.
"Well?" asked Hestia, her hands wrapped tightly around an empty glass.
"Cleared." said Harry, "Cleared of all charges."
The mood within the kitchen changed drastically, many of the occupants clapping loudly. Tonks slumped down in her chair, sighing in relief. Hestia smiled happily, making her way over to Harry before wrapping her arms around him.
"Thank Merlin." she muttered, "We were worrying the whole day, Tonks' hair kept changing shades -"
"I knew he would get off!" denied Tonks, a large smile upon her face.
"You know," began Harry, "You seem a bit too relieved, considering how you knew I'd get off."
Tonks rolled her eyes, grabbing a bottle of butterbeer and tossing it towards Harry.
Harry stood in the corner with the two aurors for quite some time, speaking occasionally to the many people who came up to him. It was nice, honestly, being able to simply relax after several weeks of constant vigilance.
The Order of the Phoenix was much more lax now, Harry noticed. No one was watching him - or, at the very least, not nearly as much as they had been during the past few days. It was nice, although Harry didn't really understand it. It wasn't as though he would have run away to escape his hearing.
Or maybe I would. Run off to the Delacour Chateaux.
Personally, Harry felt he would be willing to do that even without the issues that a hearing insinuated. It was, after all, what he had been doing for the better part of the summer.
At least he might be able to do it again in the near future. It would be nice to see Fleur again, and Hedwig. It had been a while.
"Bloody bastard." swore Sirius as he entered the room, a large cardboard box held between his arms.
"What's got your wand in a knot?" asked George, watching as the man made his way towards him, his brother, and Lupin. Harry looked up, slowly making his way towards the group.
Harry had told the twins about Sirius and Lupin's involvement in making the Marauder's Map nearly a week ago, thinking they might find it interesting. What he had not considered, however, was how the twins might react to that.
The moment the Order of the Phoenix meeting being held at the time had ended, the twins had apparated into the room before bowing to the two marauders, loudly declaring their undying love for all to hear. It had been a rather amusing sight, watching as Mrs. Weasley chased them around the house, yelling along with Sirius' mum.
"Kreacher." said Sirius grumpily, "Blasted miserable elf. He keeps trying to save all the stuff I throw out; I had to chase him up three floors get these."
He indicated the box held within his hands with a nod of his head.
"Found him up there, running over to the library." Sirius informed them, "He's still up there, I think, with my mum. At least I can tell him to shut up; mum's still going on about how I'm 'besmirching the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black'."
"Good thing he didn't make it into the library." noted Lupin, "The last thing we need are potentially dangerous objects hidden somewhere we can't get them."
"They're dangerous?" questioned Fred, stepping on his tiptoes in order to peer into the cardboard box, "They just look like a bunch of junk."
"It is." said Sirius, "But knowing mum, they might end up killing one of us if we're not careful. We'll have to take a look, make sure there's nothing wrong with them.
Fred and George nodded eagerly, quickly taking the box from Sirius. They made their way over to the corner, Sirius and Lupin practically running after them.
"Dinner!" yelled Mrs. Weasley a few moments later, "Come on now, eat up!"
Mrs. Weasley's cooking was just as superb as Harry remembered. He soon found his plate filled to the brim with all sorts of homemade foods, all of which looked very delicious.
"Kreacher hasn't put poison in any of this, has he?" questioned Fred innocently.
Nearly half the table choked on their food.
Despite the admittedly large size of the Black dining table, there was still not enough room to seat everyone. It was for this reason that Harry, Tonks, Hestia, Sirius, Lupin, the Weasley children and Hermione all sat upon the floor, eating with far less formality than those at the table.
"We'll have to take you to Diagon at some point." said Tonks after she had finished swallowing what seemed to be a particularly tasty bit of steak, "To get your equipment and all. You'll be off to Hogwarts soon, after all."
"Only two and a half weeks left?" complained Ginny.
"You shouldn't be too upset." Hestia said kindly, "You could come during Christmas, and you'll probably be here next summer as well. We all will, I think."
"I probably won't." noted Harry, "I'm only here because of the dementors. If it weren't for them, I'd still be back in Privet Drive."
"Yeah, but you're only there for a month or two." said George.
"You always come 'round eventually." added Fred, his mouth filled with food.
"But that's because something always happens." argued Ginny, "There was Dobby right, then there was his aunt -"
"- then the World Cup and then the dementors, yeah." finished George, "You're as jinxed as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Post, you are."
"Though you haven't died yet." said Fred.
Let's hope it stays that way.
"He's not going to die." said Hestia stubbornly, "He'll be fine."
"We know, Hestia." assured Lupin, "We know."
A sudden silence fell upon the group, a few of them taking a bite or two from their meals.
"Well," said Sirius loudly, his eyes upon the objects within the cardboard box (for he had long since finished his meal), "I was right, they're all safe! Just things Kreacher wanted to hide away."
"Can we take a look?" questioned Fred quickly, George nodding by his side.
Sirius looked between the two of the suspiciously before turning to Lupin. The Werewolf shrugged, turning down to enjoy another bite of steak.
"Very well." said Sirius, "I'm warning you, they could be dangerous -"
"You said you checked them yourself." reminded Fred.
"Yeah, it'll be fine." assured George.
The group watched as the twins eagerly took the box from Sirius, hastily taking out a number of peculiar items and laying it down before them.
"Why exactly do you want to look through these so badly?" questioned Hermione, her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the twins, "It all looks like a bunch of rubbish."
"Weasley Wizard Wheezes, remember?" whispered Ginny.
"You're still going on with that?" asked Hermione, her eyes widening with surprise, "I thought your mum put a stop to that!"
"Hermione," began George nonchalantly, "Just because someone tells you not to do something doesn't mean you actually have to stop."
"It's more like a suggestion." added Fred as he pulled out an old clock from the cardboard box, "Take it or leave it, it's up to you."
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to your mother." said Lupin tiredly, "She's just worried about your futures."
"This is our future!" argued Fred.
"Yes, we know." said Lupin, "But Molly doesn't. She thinks you're just wasting your time. You've got to prove it's all worth something, otherwise she won't ever see the point."
"Right." said Fred, "Then we'll just have to get to work, won't we? Here, Forge, try and open this - it might have something useful inside."
Fred tossed a seemingly ancient locket to his brother, who caught it nimbly.
"You can't just go opening stuff like that!" warned Ginny angrilly, "You don't know what these objects can do, it -"
"Relax, this isn't like the diary." assured George, "Besides, Sirius already tried opening it, and he isn't dead, is he?"
"Neither is Kreacher." added Fred, "And Merlin knows how long he's had all of these."
Ginny quieted down, turning to talk with Hermione instead. The group continued on with their dinner, a meal which they were taking far longer to complete than their counterparts at the table, likely due to how frequent their conversation was.
At some point the twins decided to pass around the objects, asking the others for help in finding anything of interest. Lupin, Hestia, and Hermione all chose not to participate, though they were alone in their choice. The rest of the group passed the strange objects around, occasionally pointing out something they had noticed.
"Here." said Tonks, handing Harry the locket from earlier, "I doubt you can open it, but I suppose there's always a chance."
Harry took the locket, flipping it over before paling.
The locket was made of a heavy gold, the letter S inlay on the front. The symbol was emerald in colour, comprising of what appeared to be several green stones. It was a rather familiar description, one Harry had heard a number of times within the Chamber of Secrets.
The ancient locket of Salazar Slytherin glistened beautifully within the palm of Harry's hand.
Harry felt his breathing grow more and more heavy. He quickly employed his skills in Occlumency to the greatest of his abilities, clearing his mind of everything and anything that might cause distress - in other words, just about everything involving the very locket that he held.
The last time he had encountered a horcrux (one that wasn't himself, anyway) it had been guarded by a fragment of Tom Riddle's soul. If this was what he thought it was, would it attack him? Would it attack those around him? Or would it remain idle, waiting patiently for Harry to make the next move.
A second passed. Then another. And another.
Harry's breathing slowed down, his body slowly relaxing. He nearly jumped when Tonks spoke from beside him.
"Couldn't open it either, huh?" she said with a sigh, "That's the last of us. Fred and George won't be happy."
"What would they have expected to fit in there?" questioned Ginny, eying the locket curiously, "I mean, it's quite small, isn't it. Not exactly much you could hide in there."
"Loads of useful things can be tiny." said Lupin, "Adds to their use, being small - makes them more convenient. That way they can be easily hidden in your robes, unseen by anyone you might not want to see them."
"Did Moody tell you that during some briefing?" questioned Tonks, eyebrows raised.
"Er - well yes, he did. But the point is still valid -"
"What tiny thing is Moody hiding in his robes?" asked Fred loudly.
Everyone except for Harry and Lupin snorted into their food.
"Here, hand all of those back." said Sirius, taking a pair of strange gloves from George, "If you haven't found anything useful by now, you won't anytime soon. Plus, this way your mother won't have a go at me anytime soon."
Harry's eyes suddenly widened, his head turning towards Sirius faster than he thought possible.
"Can I keep this?" he asked, doing his best to keep his voice level.
"What?"
"Er - can I keep this?" he repeated, holding out the golden locket in front of him.
Sirius' eyebrows raised slightly, as did those of many that surrounded them.
"Why would you want that?" asked Sirius, "I mean, it's probably real gold, but any alchemist can whip that up, even if there are less of them than there used to be."
"I've been reading a bit on enchanting." said Harry quickly, repeating something Fleur had said to him many weeks ago, "Pure gold is one of the easiest materials to enchant, I could probably use it to get a bit of practice."
"When did you learn enchanting?" questioned Tonks with interest, "They don't teach that at Hogwarts, do they?"
"No, they don't." said Hermione eagerly, "But there's a club run by Flitwick that teaches the basics - it's only for O.W.L. students, I'll join next year. It's a sort of a mix between Charms and Ancient Runes, just like magical warding -"
"Yeah, you can keep it." whispered Sirius to Harry, "Just don't tell Kreacher."
Harry slowly got out of bed, being extra careful not to make any noise. Even though there was no one else sleeping on the third flood, it would not hurt to be extra cautious. After a quick look at the admittedly strange clock that hung upon the wall, Harry pulled the ancient locket out from his bedside table.
Even in the absence of light, the precious object gave off a beautiful glow.
It was a strange thing, the locket of Slytherin. Salazar had been telling the truth; regardless of the materials it consisted of, the locket was not particularly gaudy. If it had not perfectly matched the description provided by Salazar, Harry might not have looked twice.
But it was a perfect match for Salazar's description, from the gold exterior all the way down to the individual emerald stones that lined the front. It even felt familiar, not unsimilar to the diary Harry had destroyed long ago.
It feels . . . alive.
Though it did not breathe - nor did it have a heartbeat, or even a heart, or anything like that at all - it was very much alive. It reminded Harry a bit of the horcrux he himself had housed until recently, even if he had not been aware of it at the time. It was not sentient (as far as Harry could tell), nor anything similar. It was simply there, fulfilling its purpose by lying in wait.
A feeling of excitement shot through Harry.
One down . . . one step closer . . . it isn't impossible, this proves it . . . it can be done . . .
The other, more rational part of himself, however, was slightly concerned.
How was it that the Blacks had one of Voldemort's horcruxes? It had to have been taken by the Blacks, this much Harry was sure of. It could not have been one of the Order of the Phoenix members. If it had been one of them, it would have been destroyed by now, or, at the very least, not be left lying around.
Perhaps one of the order members is a spy?
Harry ruled the thought out just as quickly as he formulated it. It was certainly possible that one of the order members was a spy - it was how war worked, after all - but that was the only puzzle piece that fit properly. Riddle would not entrust a piece of his soul to someone frequently visiting the headquarters of his enemies.
He probably wouldn't entrust it to anyone at all.
Yet the locket was here, and Harry strongly doubted that it was here by Voldemort's will. As far as Harry knew, the Blacks had not taken a side during the last war. Unless that was a ruse, Harry doubted Voldemort would let the locket anywhere near here.
Sirius could not have known; there was no way he would have allowed Harry to keep the locket if he had. But as far as Harry knew, Sirius was the only Black to have inhabited the house in the last decade.
The locket must have been here for longer then.
If that was the case, that meant anyone of Sirius' relatives could have been responsible. Harry thought for a moment before paling, a sudden realization occurring within his mind.
Bellatrix Lestrange. She was a perfect candidate for the job - the most loyal of Voldemort's supporters, according to just about anyone who had lived through the war. Despite Harry's initial thoughts, Harry could see Riddle entrusting a piece of his soul to someone like that. He himself would have done it.
It was now more important than ever that he explored the Black library. If Harry was wrong about Bellatrix, then he needed to know why a Black had taken the locket in the first place. Had they known it was a horcrux, or had they simply recognized it as a heirloom of Slytherin's?
Harry would not be particularly surprised if it was the latter. The Black's, after all, were well known for their belief and support in the purity of blood.
For it to be the former, the Blacks would have to know what a horcrux was - and that was at the very least. Such information was hard to come by, Harry knew first hand. If they knew the locket to be a horcrux, then there was a good chance they learnt it from a book in their library.
Harry shook his head, burrowing the locket into the depths of his pocket. He would have to take the locket to Salazar, no doubt. Despite how certain he was, there was a possibility that the locket was not a horcrux, but simply a fake.
Besides . . . this was his last gift from his wife, wasn't it? He'd like to see it.
Harry quietly made his way over to the other side of his temporary bedroom, removing a few clothes from his trunk. He was not sure whether or not Hedwig could flame into the building; it was, after all, protected by the Fidelius Charm.
Harry had a feeling she could. They shared a soul bond, and he himself was in on the secret of the charm in question. It would not be particularly surprising if Hedwig could flame in.
"Hedwig!"
A violent ball of flames was born within the room, eventually fading away to reveal the majestic form of Harry's beloved phoenix. Harry smiled softly to himself as he pulled a shirt over his head, hastily making his way towards the creature.
"Hedwig," he whispered quietly, "I need to go to the Chamber of Secrets, it's important. Bring Fleur too, alright?"
Hedwig hooted softly and the world around them burned into nothingness.
"Harry," breathed Fleur as she sprinted across the Chamber of Secrets, "Harry!"
Harry opened his arms wide, closing his eyes as Fleur fell into his grasp.
"Harry!" she repeated, her voice muffled slightly, "Are you alright? I have your wand, I have had it on me ever since that night. Hedwig has been with me, she has been living in the woods near the chateaux. I looked through every British article released in the last two weeks, they have said nothing about the hearing. I even asked papa, but he did not -"
"I'm fine." whispered Harry, tightening his grasp around Fleur, "I'm fine."
A peaceful silence fell upon the pair. The only noise to be heard was the quiet sound of the waters around them, crashing against the walls of the chamber in a benevolent manner.
"I have missed you." said Fleur quietly, "I have missed you so much. I - I was so worried."
"You don't have to be anymore. I'm fine now, I've been Sirius and the others for weeks."
Fleur looked up, a confused glint in her eyes.
"I was moved to the Order of the Phoenix headquarters." explained Harry, "After the fiasco with the dementors. It's been pretty nice, even if I do live with Hermione and Ron for the time being - that was pretty awkward, mind you."
"And the hearing?"
"Yesterday." answered Harry with a smile, "Cleared of all charges."
Fleur sighed with relief, her eyes closing as she leaned against him.
After a few moments, Harry stepped away, tightly fastening his hand around Fleur's arm before gently dragging her towards the study.
"I've got something else to tell you." he said quickly, "But I'll have to tell Salazar too. It'd be best if you were both there."
Fleur nodded, allowing Harry to lead the way. The pair walked around the basilisk corpse and towards the entrance, only pausing when Harry looked into the mouth of the ancient creature. They then continued onward, eventually finding themselves in the presence of a sleeping portrait.
"Salazar!"
Slytherin's eyes opened lethargically, slowly narrowing upon seeing Harry's form.
"I was wondering when you would show up." the portrait informed him tiredly, "And to think, I was debating whether or not Riddle had killed you by now -"
"The ministry set me up." Harry interrupted, "They brought two dementors to Privet Drive, I was basically on house arrest for a bit. I got a hearing as well, but I got cleared of all charges."
Salazar's annoyance left him, replaced by what appeared to be slight curiosity.
"I suppose it is not much of an issue anymore." he muttered slowly, scratching his chin, "You have gotten cleared, after all . . . and the public knows nothing, correct?"
Harry nodded.
"The ministry wouldn't want to print anything that showed me in a good light." said Harry, "Not anymore, anyway. They've been targeting Dumbledore more than me, but it's still been quite annoying."
"You still have your little beetle friend." reminded Salazar, "If push comes to shove, you can easily get her to show you in a better light."
"Maybe." agreed Harry, "We'll have to work that all out. Even if I can't, it shouldn't matter too much. It's not like people were lining up to fight for me anyway. But that isn't why I'm here, regardless of how important it was."
Harry gently retrieved the locket from his pocket, holding it in front of him. Though Fleur did not have much of a reaction (except a questioning glance at Harry), Salazar paled, his eyes widening at once.
"H-how?" he sputtered, "W-where? How could you have possibly f-found that?"
"What is it?" questioned Fleur, her eyebrows raised.
"Salazar's Locket." answered Harry simply, "And, if I'm right, one of Riddle's horcruxes."
Fleur's eyes practically bulged, her jaw dropping. She turned to face Harry, pausing slightly before letting out a stream of curses in rapid French.
"I found it in Sirius' home." explained Harry once Fleur had calmed down, "Number twelve, Gr-grim - wait, it's under the Fidelius Charm, I won't be able to tell -"
"It does not matter." said Salazar quickly, "As long as you are safe, it is unimportant. You were saying?"
"Right. It was being hidden by the Black house elf, Kreacher. As far as I know, it was discovered by one of the Blacks, probably before I was even born."
"Do you know who?" asked Fleur.
"No." said Harry with a shake of his head, "I think it might have been Bellatrix, but I'm not sure -"
Kreacher's voice suddenly echoed through Harry's mind, repeating words it had said many hours ago.
" - trying to throw Master Regulus' locket away."
"Regulus." said Harry suddenly.
"What?"
"Regulus." he repeated, "That's who took the locket. I heard Kreacher muttering about it right after the hearing, I must have forgotten. He's Sirius' brother, and he's been dead since before I was born. I dunno much else, I never bothered to ask."
"You will certainly have to look into that." said Salazar, "I am not sure whether or not the Blacks would have knowledge of horcruxes - not that it would surprise me."
"I'm going to check the library." Harry informed him, "I've been preparing to go in there for quite some time, I'll do it within the next few nights. If I find a book on horcruxes, then I'll know for sure."
"There are also many other fascinating tomes within the Black Library." Salazar noted, "They would certainly not go amiss in aiding your training."
Harry nodded, turning to observe the locket he held within his hand.
"Are you sure it is a horcrux?" Fleur questioned.
"No, I'm not." admitted Harry, "But it shouldn't exactly be difficult to find out."
"Riddle would have liked to turn my locket into a horcrux." Salazar informed the pair, "It was a reminder of his heritage, something which he had previously looked upon with disdain."
"It's also a tie to Hogwarts." added Harry, "Riddle's first real home. Mine too."
Harry felt something stir both within the locket and within himself. Despite everything it had put him through, Hogwarts truly did feel like home. He could easily understand why Riddle would want to remain connected to the magical place.
"Let's go." whispered Fleur, gently leading Harry to the study door, "Let us finish this."
"Harry?"
Harry turned around, his eyes landing upon his saddened mentor.
"Could you leave the locket in here, once you've destroyed the horcrux?" Salazar asked softly, "It'd be nice to . . . just to have what's left, I suppose."
Harry nodded, slowly following Fleur out into the chamber.
Harry and Fleur sat with their backs pressed against the cold stone walls of the Chamber of Secrets, both covered from head to toe in freezing water.
The horcrux had been far more violent than either of them had expected. It was only thanks to quick thinking on Fleur's part that the situation had not gotten out of hand. She had quickly stabbed the opened locket with a fang from the dead basilisk - an action which resulted in an explosion of magic. The water that lay within the two pools of the chamber was practically thrown upon them, completely dousing them.
Another one down.
That left four more for them to dispose of, along with Voldemort himself. How they had managed to destroy three, Harry had no idea - but they had, and he was eternally grateful. Still, they had a long road ahead of them before they could finally relax.
Fleur sighed, resting her head upon his shoulder.
"School starts in a few weeks." Harry noted quietly, his eyes upon the cracked locket that lay upon the damp floors of the chamber, "And you won't be there."
"I will be able to visit you almost every night." Fleur assured him.
"And during the day?"
"You will have to make friends, I suppose." said Fleur quietly, "I will not be with you at all times, not until we are both out of school."
"Right." said Harry bitterly, "Making friends. That'll be easy - I can thank the ministry for helping me."
Fleur smiled softly, gently kissing Harry on the cheek.
"I am the one with the allure Harry, not you." she reminded him.
"Thanks to the ministry, I've got the opposite of an allure." noted Harry.
"There will always be people who eat up everything the ministry has to say." Fleur whispered quietly, "But there will also always be a few that do not. They are the ones that make it all worth it."
Harry turned to Fleur, who blushed slightly upon seeing his raised eyebrow.
"You know what I mean." Fleur said, "I am sure you will be fine. You will make friends, I know you will."
"And you?"
Fleur shrugged slowly.
"I have my family, and now you." she told him, "I am more than content with that."
Harry quietly made his way down the hall, making sure that his legs were obscured by his invisibility cloak.
Several days had passed since the destruction of the locket. It was now just more than a week before Hogwarts term would start again - something Harry was truthfully looking forward to. Aside from the fact that Hogwarts felt like home, the castle gave him access to the Chamber of Secrets, which in turn gave him access to Fleur.
Over the last few days, Harry had visited Fleur twice. Both times had been spent lying about, simply relaxing in upon the luscious fields of the Delacour Chateaux. Harry could have sworn that Gabrielle had seen him the last time - he had not been entirely difficult to spot - though both he and Fleur were entirely unsure. Either way, it was unlikely that he would be returning anytime soon.
When he did return, however, he hoped to properly meet Fleur's parents. It was a meeting long overdue, after all. Harry and Fleur had broached the topic several times, though they had never gone particularly in depth. When the time came, they would know.
The time now, however, was half past two, the moon easily visible in the cloudless night sky. Harry continued onwards, making sure not to make a noise. The entirety of Number twelve, Grimmauld's Place was fast asleep, and Harry wanted it to stay that way.
Harry made sure to step around a particularly violent carpet, straining his ears to catch any sounds. The corners of the rug curled slightly; over the last few days, it has seemingly grown a hobby of trying to trip Harry. Harry paid it no mind, however, and continued on.
Harry slowed to a halt as he finally reached his destination - a journey that had taken quite some time, especially considering that it was a room on the same floor as his own. Still, Harry did not mind; he would rather have to take his time than risk being caught in the Black Library.
The door, as usual, was just barely ajar, the smallest bit of moonlight shining from what must have been a window within the room. The white light fell perfectly upon Harry's pale skin, causing it to glow both softly and beautifully.
Harry carefully extended his hand, pulling the door open just widely enough for one to enter the room. Once he was certain he was properly hidden by his invisibility cloak, Harry walked through.
Creak.
"Who's there?"
Harry cursed quietly, hastily pulling his foot away from the creaking floorboard. He lifted his head (whilst remaining under the cloak), turning to observe the Black Library.
The library was vast; dozens of large bookshelves lined the room, each one filled to the brim with books - many of which appeared to be handwritten. The furthest wall held many large windows, allowing for the moonlight to trickle in. At the center of the aforementioned wall rested a large portrait - one of a middle aged woman with beady eyes.
"Who's there?" she repeated, looking around the room once more, "Filthy mudbloods, making a mess of the house of my fathers . . . is that you, Kreacher?"
Harry paled underneath his cloak. He could not risk Kreacher entering the library. For one, he was not particularly sure whether or not Kreacher would be able to detect him. Secondly, (and, in Harry's opinion, more importantly), Kreacher would have to tell Sirius that Harry was here if asked.
Although I dunno if he would. He and Sirius don't seem to get along well.
Regardless, Harry could not risk the elf being called into the library. And for him to prevent that, Harry would likely have to reveal himself to the portrait.
I'm such an idiot.
With a heavy sigh, Harry slowly removed the invisibility cloak from over his head.
"It's me." he said quietly.
The portrait's eyes widened before narrowing slightly. She looked him up and down, her look of disgust slowly fading away.
"Well," she began, "You look respectable. Better than the filthy mudbloods my mutt of a son brings in. You're a pureblood then, aren't you?"
Harry's lips tightened slightly as he shook his head. The woman's eyes narrowed once more, though she did not yell as she had in her downstairs portrait.
"You look like a Potter." she noted, "But you've got the eyes of a Gaunt, though I haven't seen one in person - which is a good thing, mind you."
"I am a Potter." Harry muttered.
The woman's head raised sharply.
"Potter?" she questioned quickly before steadying herself, "I am Walburga. You're an heir of Black, are you not?"
Harry nodded slowly, gripping his wand tightly from within his robes.
"You're free to use the library, in that case." said the woman, "I would die before I allow the mutt access, my beloved Regulus is dead, Bella is imprisoned, Dromeda - she's better off dead, she is - and I don't even know what's happened to Narcissa."
Harry paused slightly, his jaw wide open.
"Just like that?" he asked, "I don't have to, I dunno, pass some test?"
"You already have." Walburga replied sadly from within her frame, "You're the last of the Black lineage, the closest thing to the main line. I never imagined I would be grateful Dorea married a Potter. Thank Salazar."
With that, the woman suddenly vanished from her frame. Harry shook his head in confusion.
What just happened?
The next several hours were spent pursuing through the seemingly infinite number of tomes within the Black Library. Many of them, Harry realised, did not actually hold magic, but rather information on others. It seemed as though the House of Black was rather adept at the art of blackmail.
Just when Harry was finally getting ready to call it a night, his eyes fell upon a select number of ancient-looking books housed within a shelf in the far corner of the room. It was the title of one specific book, however, that caught Harry's eyes.
'Secrets of Soul Magic'
Harry quickly made his way towards the tome, hastily pulling it off the shelf. He practically ripped the book open, searching quickly through the contents before finding what he was looking for.
Labeled in black ink upon the table of contents was the title 'XXVI. The Horcrux'.
This is it. This is how the Blacks knew of horcruxes.
Harry gently closed the book, setting it down upon a shelf next to him. He spent the next half hour picking out other seemingly useful books, forming a small pile in the corner of the room. Once finished, took the books (along with the book on horcruxes) back with him into his bedroom.
Hours later, after he had properly secured the books within the confines of his trunk, Harry lay awake, pondering the events that had torn the Black family apart.
Harry, Tonks, Hestia and the Weasley twins all flinched within their seats in the Black living room as a loud shriek flooded the house.
"Is that Sirius' mum?" questioned George quietly, "Her voice's gotten a bit higher - think she's getting any younger?"
"That's Hermione, you idiot." whispered Tonks, her head pointed upward. She shook her head, turning back to the chessboard that sat between herself and Harry.
"Reckon she's gotten a new book?" asked Fred, "Or perhaps a lovely 'Outstanding' on all of her exams?"
"Can't be," said George with a shake of his head, "Exam results came months ago, and none of us have been to Diagon Alley in months."
The answer to their dilemma came mere minutes later. Just as Harry's queen took Tonks' king, Hermione came bounding down the stairs, a large envelope held high above her head.
"I've been made a prefect!" announced Hermione proudly, happily removing a golden badge from within the envelope, "I'm a prefect!"
Crack.
The box of strange objects Fred had been showing Harry earlier fell out of his hands, a number of its occupants rattling against the hard wooden floor. Fred and George, however, paid no mind - they were far too busy staring at Hermione with both amusement and horror.
"Prefect?" George repeated faintly, "Prefect?"
"We'd better behave ourselves, dear old brother of mine." said Fred with a weak smile, "Imagine if Icke Hermione took our products to our esteemed headmaster -"
"- not that they're ready yet, mind you, but we're getting there."
"She can't." interrupted Hestia, "Both Gryffindor prefects in the same year need to approve something before it goes to McGonagall, and then, if it's bad enough, Dumbledore."
Fred and George both turned sharply to face Hestia.
"What?" questioned George loudly, "What are you on about?"
Hestia put down her book with a sigh.
"Why do you think your brother Percy always threatened to tell your mother whenever you two did something you weren't supposed to be doing?" she said, pointing to the two of them, "Because he couldn't go to McGonagall, not until he was Head Boy anyway -"
"Well that settles it," said Fred, standing up quickly, "We're going to find the other fifth year prefect and kill him -"
Hoot.
Harry's head snapped to the side. A large tawny owl landed upon his and Tonks' chessboard, knocking over the few pieces that remained. It held out its left leg to Harry, waving the letter tied to it back and forth.
The bird flew off as Harry took the letter from it. Harry slit the envelope open, flipping it upside down.
Fred and George's screams of victory permeated through the house as a red and gold badge fell into Harry's outstretched arms.