Harry sat down at the desk in his living quarters feeling completely overwhelmed by everything ahead of him. He had no idea where to start in his search for horcruxes. After several minutes of pondering, he decided the best place to start was at the very beginning. He got out a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink. After several minutes of hurried scribbling, he paused looking down at what he had written.

Tom Riddle's Diary

Marvolo Gaunt's Ring

Slytherin Locket

Huffelpuff's Cup

Ravenclaw's Diadem

Nagini

Myself

After some extra thought, he crossed himself off the list. He didn't become a horcrux until that fatal night when his parents had died. He also wasn't sure if Nagini would be a horcrux yet or not. He began to write where they were located on the parchment, but realized there was a slim to none chance of them being in the same place.

"Oh well," he thought, "it's worth a try." After all he had to start somewhere.

The first place he decided to look was the room of requirement. If any of them would be in the same place, it would be the diadem. Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak, Marauder's map, his wand, and his broom remembering last time.

It was about 1 in the morning, so he figured he really shouldn't run into anyone. Not really paying attention to where he was going, Harry wandered through the halls. As he was rounding the corner to the hallway that held the infamous room of requirement, he slammed full force into someone, or something, coming the other way. He landed with a *thud* on the cold concrete floor. Quickly he gathered his things and looked up. He found himself face to face with Severus Snape.

"P-professor? What are you doing here?" he stammered.

"I was, uh, I was just patrolling the halls."

Snape looked very skeptical. "Wearing an invisibility cloak and carrying a broom?"

"Well you uh never know what you're going to run into, do you? And as a matter of fact, what are you doing out of bed? If my memory serves me right, you're supposed to be in bed."

"Well…I was just, uh…"

"Listen, I'll let you off this time, but this time only. Now I suggest you head back to your dormitory and get some sleep. Good night." Leaving a very confused Severus Snape behind, Harry strode off trying to make himself look authoritative. He watched Snape on the marauder's map, and once he was a decent distance away, Harry headed towards the room of requirements.

oOo

"I need somewhere to hide something, I need somewhere to hide something, I need somewhere to hide something," Harry thought as he paced back and forth in front of the secret door. He very cautiously opened the new door and crept inside, leaving the door open. Luckily he remembered where he found it the first time, and was able to locate it rather quickly. Before grabbing it, he mounted his broom, ready to kick off. In one swift movement, he grabbed the diadem and kicked off. Soaring through the room at top speed, he searched for the exit. As he turned to slam the door, he saw the fire billowing after him. With a resounding *BANG* he slammed the door shut.

Harry leaned up against the now bare wall and slid down it breathing hard. He looked down at the object he now held in his hand. "One down, five to go," he thought bitterly.

He heard faint footsteps approaching from his right. Quickly, he grabbed his invisibility cloak and threw it over himself. The footsteps came closer and closer until they came around the corner where he and Snape had collided earlier. Albus Dumbledore was standing there looking completely bewildered. He scanned the hallway, and then looked directly at Harry.

"Ah, Harry, I thought you were a student. What on earth are you doing this late at night?"

Harry chuckled a bit, "Well professor, I was, uh, just looking for something."

"Please, call me Albus. What was it you were looking for?" He glanced over Harry to see if he was holding anything, but luckily Harry had hidden the diadem in his robs. "Oh, a room I read about. It's said that it can change into whatever you need."

"Ah, one of the many legends of Hogwarts. Let me know it you ever manage to find it."

"I will." Harry stood up carefully, and with an excuse about needing to get some sleep, he edged away.

Albus remained there for a few moments pondering what it was Harry was hiding. The aura of mystery surrounding his new defense teacher seemed to be continuously growing. He hoped in time Harry would open up, and if he didn't, some investigations would need to be made.

oOo