Ok. I am FINALLY out of school and my computer is no longer on the fritz so I will continue writing once again! And I'll be in Florida seeing the new Harry Potter Theme park, so I've become inspired once again like that nerd that I am! Anyways, here is another chapter.

The three friends sat, discouraged, in the Leaky Cauldron. Ron and Harry both held their heads in their hands thinking desperately of a plan to save someone that they loved, as well as possibly the human race. Again. They thought there would be life after Voldemort's death but it's been quite the opposite. Ron only moved to take sips of the firewhiskey he bought in his rage. Harry knew that drinking would solve nothing so he sat in his fury and solitude without it. But the sounds of the pub comforted him somehow. Knowing that life for other was running smoothly as if nothing was threatening their lives gave him hope. The clanging of glasses, chuckling and slapping of tables keep Harry form losing it.

Hermione, however, was not absorbed in such thoughts as her companions. "There is no question as to why Corvus would want the wand, but why doesn't he go and get it himself? I don't recall Harry putting any sort of enchantment or defense on Dumbledore's grave. But the only way we could find out is by going there. Again…" Hermione's magical bag that had to end sat upon the table as she dug through it searching for something that could jumpstart her mind. Her fingers grazed the small vial that held Regulus' memory.

"Merlin's beard!" Hermione yelped in revelation as her thoughts began to come together. Both Harry and Ron seemed to be waiting for this exclamation, as they both jumped to their feet with eager expressions upon their faces. "I had completely forgotten the memory! This is far worse than I could think it to be. We must get to Hogwarts!" Hermione grabbed the bag and began to run to the back alley where they could apparate. The boys followed her and within moments the three were outside the gates of Hogwarts, once again. They rushed toward the white marble tomb that stood on the green grassy lawn of the school. Only Dumbledore could make death seem beautiful. The marble shone brightly as the sun hit down upon it, beaming like a spark of hope in the darkness.

"Harry, when you returned the wand to the tomb, did you set any sort of enchantments or anything upon it to protect it?" Hermione asked as she laid her hands upon the warm marble.

"No, but McGonagall said she would do so. Should we try anyways and then consult her?"

Hermione kept her gaze upon the tomb. "Ron take that end, and Harry help me with this one. Let's try to move it, and hope that whatever McGonagall cast upon here only works against someone trying to steal it."

"Oh you mean like… us?" Ron said as he grabbed hold of the tomb's lid. Hermione rolled her eyes as she and Harry took the other end. The three let out an assortment of noises as they attempted to lift the lid of the tomb. Much to their luck, it rose with their effort and they place it on its side against the tomb. Harry had closed his eyes before he could catch a glimpse of Dumbledore's corpse. But he didn't hear the squeals of disgust that he expected to hear from Ron and Hermione. When he finally opened his eyes he looked down into the tomb to see a man who appeared to have died merely hours ago. He didn't know how it had been done, but Dumbledore looked as peaceful as he did when he was first set to rest.

"How is he…" Ron started as he stared in wonder like Harry.

"It's a charm. McGonagall probably placed it upon him in a case such as those who loved him wished to view him. They wouldn't see his… you know. But the image of him as we knew it. I assume that since you, Harry, are the true owner of the Elder Wand, you are able to open the tomb. But I'm sure that there are enchantments upon it that would not allow someone such as Corvus to do so."

The Elder Wand lay in the middle of Dumbledore's chest between his finger tips. Harry was almost scared to touch him in fear of disturbing such a peaceful image. But he knew something must be done. Harry's hand darted for the wand and he pulled it quickly from Dumbledore's grasp. The three placed the lid back upon the tomb and began to walk back towards the school gates.

"I honestly have no idea what we are going to do about this Elder Wand situation but I feel much more comfortable now that it is in our grasp. But what sent me into my frenzy back at the Leaky Cauldron was something Regulus said in his memory. Corvus contains part of Voldemort's soul. That was the whole purpose of his conception."

Ron and Harry stood in utter confusion. Hermione smacked her hand against her head. "He's a horcrux meaning that he could raise Voldemort from the dead once again!" Why am I not always this blunt? Hermione thought to herself as the realization of the situation hit Ron and Harry like a pack of angry Hippogriffs.

"Well, then what can we do?" Harry stated. A fire welled up inside of his body that made him realize that they had no time to waste. "We need to go back to Regulus' study. I have a feeling that we haven't done quit a through enough search." Harry apparated on the spot with Elder Wand in hand, leaving Hermione and Ron to look at each other in confusion.

When Hermione and Ron walked through the door to Harry's recently acquired home, they realized that Harry was already upstairs in the study. They took two stairs at a time as they ran to join the search with Harry.

Kreacher stood before Harry with his hands in tight balls and his eyes closed so tightly the lids may have turned inside out. Though Harry did not threaten the house elf, his grip upon the Elder Wand revealed that he was going to get information out of the elf one way or another. "I know Regulus left more information, hidden, around this house. Now I'll ask you again. Where did he leave it? I know he told you the locations of said evidence."

Hermione and Ron stood at the entrance of the study, watching the scene before them. So close, yet so far to information that could save them. It was reassuring to see that if you ever gave a secret to a house elf, he would keep it locked safe, but it was exasperating to see how difficult it was to retrieve it.

Kreacher loosened the white knuckled fingers from their grip and let his eyes open, revealing his puffy red eyes that drooped on his aging face. "Master Potter… I…I… I don't remember exactly where because my memory has been readjusted on multiple occasions," Kreacher replied before he fell into the position, expecting a blow for his incompetence.

Harry's face grew red with dissatisfaction, but he didn't lay a hand upon the elf. "Hermione!" the color returned to his face, "You know the charm that can fix someone's memory! Can you attempt it upon our friend here? I know Regulus left other memories. If he really did know more than he let on, than there HAS to be more. He told you everything, and now you've got to tell me!" Harry remained calm as he spoke to Kreacher, indirectly reassuring him that a beating would not ensue. Kreacher took a deep breath of air that had to of filled up every corner of his body.

"Master Potter, not every piece of information is in this house. Well, most of it is, but some pieces could be missing by now, destroyed. I will reveal to the places of the others, but I'm not sure how to attain them," Kreacher looked solemnly at the ground and did and about face. "Follow me, Master Potter."

The house elf began a brisk walk out of the study, down the hall and continued all the way to the first floor. He turned abruptly into the drawing room, bringing the three to look into the wall that was covered in the Black family tree. Harry's eyes fluttered from face to face, from burn mark to burn mark. Kreacher pointed to one face in particular however. Harry walked over to the wall and placed his trembling hand upon the face of Regulus black. "Here?" he asked Kreacher. With a nod Harry turned back to the wall. He had no idea what to do, but he assumed that there was something behind that wall that he needed.

He knocked on it. Nothing. Rubbed it. Nothing. He even considered cutting his finger and giving a "blood payment" like Dumbledore had to do at the seaside cave. "How do I get it?" Harry asked aloud.

Hermione moved to his side, and closed her eyes. She pulled out her wand and put the tip in the middle of the image on the wall. Hermione's forehead wrinkled as she began to push her wand into the wall. Harry almost gasped, assuming she would break it, but much to his surprise, the wall absorbed it like pudding absorbs a spoon. Within moments, Hermione's whole wand had been engrossed by the wall. Her brow furrowed as she began to slowly pull her wand from the wall. When the tip finally emerged it brought with it a long silvery substance that sparkles and flowed like Veela hair.

"It's another memory!" Ron yelled at the sight of the material.

"Kreacher! Go grab a vial with a stopper, quick!" Harry ordered through the big smile that had grown upon his face. They were closer. Only a few more clues and they would be able to stop Corvus. Hermione gave the two boys a smug look as Kreacher returned with the vial to contain the memory. After Hermione placed the memory in her pocket they continued on to the next possible clue. Kreacher led them to the kitchen before the fireplace.

Only a few pieces of wood lay inside as they crackled away the finals embers of the fire that was lit earlier that day. The brick mantle stood before them as Kreacher pointed up towards the part above the mouth to the fireplace. With a whisk of her wand, Hermione set a pot of tea to boil while they stood before the fireplace, thinking of ways to extract the next memory. Harry got so close to the mantle his nose almost touched the brick. He laid his fingers upon the ashen blocks that stood between him and his prize.

The pot began to whistle, taking Hermione's attention away from the fireplace. Ron joined her in filling cups of tea while Harry remained. He massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger and adjusted his glasses. Thoughts rushed through his head as he tried to think of how the next clue was hidden in that fireplace.

"Maybe there's a lever or something. In Muggle mystery movies there are always fireplaces with candle sticks or books that when moved cause a secret entrance in the fireplace to be revealed," Hermione suggested after she took a sip of tea. She and Ron had taken seats at the dinner table to drink their tea and mull over their options. Ron gave Hermione a look of disgust.

"Really? Maybe if we sing it a song, the dying embers will begin to emit memories like smoke. Hermione, I swear you come up with the most ridiculous ideas sometimes," Ron smiled at Hermione as she ignored his poor attempt at flirting, rolled her eyes, and returned to her tea.

Harry let out a laugh. "It wasn't that funny Harry," Ron said, taken aback. Harry whipped around, " Not you git. Well, what you said made me think. Not exactly a song, but a rhythm, in a sense. You know how you have to tap certain bricks in the alleyway behind the Leaky Cauldron to get into Diagon Alley? Maybe this is like that!" Harry exclaimed before he turned back to the bricks. He pulled out the Elder Wand and examined the bricks. He began to tap at random, grouping in threes, fours and then fives. He knew it was kind of an outlandish idea, but it was better than nothing.

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks of worry. "I think he's losing it," Ron mouthed to Hermione. She let out a small laugh. She couldn't stay mad at the stupid boy for too long.

The night moved on as Harry sat before the fireplace attempting different patterns that would cause the fireplace to have some sort of reaction. Ron and Hermione had decided to face the final clue that was hidden in the house. The portrait of Walburga Black that was stuck to the wall on the ground floor due to a Permanent Sticking Charm was the location of the final piece of evidence that Regulus left behind. The two stared at the curtain that covered the obnoxious painting that had a tendency to scream and wail when loud noises occurred or her curtain was moved. Hermionce cringed as her wand threw the curtains open, but the screams were only open a moment before she cried, "Silencio!" silencing the portrait, which kept their ears from bursting while they worked.

"I don't even know where to begin," Hermione admitted to Ron after they had stood in silence for a few moments.

"Why don't you try what you did with the other one?" Ron suggested. A groan was heard from the kitchen. Obviously Harry's idea was not going well.

Hermione shrugged, and put the tip of her wand against the painting. Mrs. Black's expression was almost humorous to Ron, and it took quite a bit of self control for him to not laugh. Hermione furrowed her brow as she had done before and began the attempt to sink her wand into the painting. Eyes wide with anticipation, Ron held his breath in the hopes that it would work.

The wand merely bent, almost snapping with all of the force that Hermione had applied.

"Bugger," Hermione said as she walked back to Ron's side t view the painting from afar. "I think we should research bewitched paintings," Hermione said as she grabbed Ron's hand, and dragged him into the drawing room. She had left her enchanted purse in there, and she had begun to dig through it for books. They would fly out, often two at a time, and Ron had to be quick to catch all of them. Piles of books covered the room when Hermione was finally finished her search. It wasn't long before Hermione had her nose buried in a book like always. Ron sat beside her flipping through a book titled History of Catastrophic and Charmed Paintings. Of course he didn't read a page of it, only looking at the pictures. This was the first time they had been alone together in awhile.