I own nothing... I'm a broke 20-something person who cannot afford to contest ownership of something like this.

Chapter 7~ The Meeting (part 1)

James quickly made his way through the Castle towards the headmasters office, and found that a meeting was already in progress. Most of the order was assembled and discussing the recent demise of the Dark Lord and where to go next. However as soon as he walked in an alarm started going off and he found himself facing a dozen wands that were particularly friendly. It was a dark detector.

"Woah woah woah! Wait a second guys, I'm not dark, you know me! It's me James, Prongs, you have known me for years."

"If you're really you, then why are the dark detectors going off?" Remus questioned.

"What do I have to convince you?" James asked.

Remus and Sirius exchanged looks with Albus and Arthur. "I would say veritaserum but if you are really James and mean us no harm you wouldn't mind swearing an oath." Sirius stated.

"I, James Potter, swear on my life and magic that I don't know why the detectors are going off, but, it is not something I have knowingly done. I mean none of you harm. So mote it be." Once he was finished declaring his loyalties his aura became visible and flashed a blue color. As it faded he was still alive so his magic accepted the oath and proved he was honest.

Mad-eyes magical eye was sweeping him, "He has something in his pocket, that has an aura I've never seen, definitely powerful. I think it was prepared for a dark ritual but never completed."

"I only have a few things in my pocket, both of which I found presumably where V-V-Voldemort fell. One is a ring with a lion on it, the other, I would guess is his wand."

"The wand is fine, probably the Phoenix feather core prevented it from absorbing any dark magic. The ring though, I'm not sure, be careful taking it out of your pocket and let us examine it."

And so he pulled the ring out of his pocket and set it on a cleared off section of the desk. Albus quickly identified the ring as a long lost family ring said to have been forged by Godric Gryffindor himself for his family. He went on to explain that it has thought to have been lost for centuries, and he probably wouldn't have recognize it if it wasn't for the headmasters personal library that dates back to the founders. Only the current headmaster of the school can enter the library, but he cannot remove books from it. Dumbledore then started casting various spells under his breath while waving his wand over it, checking for all sorts of spells. The only recent one he found was the beginning of a very dark spell indeed, the ritual of a horcrux.

"Well my friends, I know there were celebrations the past few days, but if what I am seeing is correct it might have been too soon to celebrate. It seems Voldemort has been tampering in the blackest of magics. Do any of you know what a horcrux is?"

Sirius quickly asked, "Are you telling me he split his soul? My family is dark, and even they frown on such atrocities."

"Yes, I believe so. For those of you that don't know, a horcrux is a spell to prevent people from leaving the mortal plane. They soul, the very life-force of the being keeps them here because part of their soul is anchored here, until the horcruxes are destroyed he can never be fully killed. However, he may be without a body for an indefinite amount of time. The beginning of the spell was cast on this ring, it was never completed. It is a relatively easy reversal, that being said, theres something else that seems to be drawing it to two people in this room. Arthur and James, do you have any idea why its drawn to you? My first thought was because you were in his house as students, but so were many others that are here."

James said, "Well, you said it was made by Gryffindor, for Gryffindors, I know my family is descended from them, and, as Arthur is my cousin a few times removed, could that be the connection?"

Arthurs Eyes bulged at the thought of being descended from Godric himself, as he had no idea. None of the others had any idea of the Potters lineage it seemed from the incredulous looks. Dumbledore was the only one who didn't seem surprised as he saw the crest of Gryffindor on the pensieve James had sent him.

"Why yes, that does seem to be a possibility as the draw seems to be utilising blood magic. It is seeming like it wants to share something with you, a power of some sort. Nothing dark it seems, but I would suggest if you try it on, do it with a healer nearby in case something unexpected happens. For now, lets cancel the beginning of the spell to make it a horcrux and discuss what to do next."

Dumbledore muttered a few spells under his breath and a black smoke started rising up out of it, but it seemed to be fighting Dumbledore step for step. Dumbledore stumbled and seemed to be faltering, which was unexpected as he said it was relatively easy. It wasn't until Fawkes flew down and dropped a tear onto the ring that the ring gave up the fight and Dumbledore, winded sat down. He took a few moments to collect himself and continued his thoughts to the group.

"Ok, now given the fact that Voldemort was getting more and more seemingly foolhardy, before his demise, I would guess that he had other horcruxes. The question is, how many and where?"

"7," Sirius Black automatically said, all eyes locked on him, so he continued. "7 is what he would want, its the most powerful number magically, the real question is how many had he made before he fell, was this number 7 that he was trying to create, or, was this number 2?"

"Thats an interesting theory, and, entirely plausible. What about where? And what?"

"He seemed to like trophies, he always gloated over a particular kills. Given the fact that this one was a relic from a founder, I think its a safe bet that the others are also," Mad-eye said.

"Dumbledore, do you think he would have told his followers? I mean, the rumor was my kid brother got in too deep, and discovered something he wasn't supposed to. He ended up dead and knowing that my family frowned on this type of thing, perhaps he died because of it." Sirius had always had high hopes for his brother, and when he learned Regulus had joined the Death Eaters he knew he would never really talk to him again, but he still cared about him. Maybe this was a stretch but he hoped his brother could have redeemed himself, before his death.

"Well Sirius, I am not sure. It could be a safe bet to assume he discovered this. Is there any way you could know?"

"I think the only person he would have told of fear of being caught, was the house elf that watched over Grimmauld Place. I'm not sure if he would follow my orders, as I was disowned. It is worth a shot though, if theres a slight possibility to get rid of one of these things. KREACHER!"

There was a pop, "Yes, what does the master who broke his poor mothers heart want?" Then he muttered something under his breath that sounded like 'filthy blood traitor'.

Not surprised at all with the warm greeting he recieved from his family's servant, Sirius continued his task. "Kreacher, do you know what Regulus did that caused his death? Was there anything he gave you for either safe keeping or to destroy?"

Now the little house elf looked scared, but his Master asked him a question. He tried to fight it, but his magic forced him to answer. He nodded.