Hi, all! Thanks again for the many favs and alerts!

I know some of you were upset with the first-person POV a few chapters ago. One guest even called it "diary style". I found the comment amusing because I already had written this chapter, which does have actual diary entries in it, and to me those feel very different in writing style than my first-person narrative.

I hope you enjoy this anyway. And YAY for over 100 reviews!

Chapter Three

Harry's sleep was disturbed by more nightmares, images of his mate, wings outspread, flashing green spell light at him, that had him thrashing and screaming in Regulus' old bed. Luckily he'd remembered to cast a silencing charm before falling asleep and, as such, had not woken Ron or Hermione. Not willing to go back to sleep, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He needed something to distract him from the horrors in his mind and the constant itch in his bones. Since the books were in the other bedroom and he wasn't about to disturb Ron's sleep, he decided to search Regulus' room.

The wardrobe was only filled with clothes and shoes: Regulus' plain dress shirts and trousers, his Slytherin school robes, several pairs of everyday working robes, two very fancy dress sets, and a thick winter coat. In the side table drawers there were some business papers and periodicals. Regulus had appeared to be interested in banking and historical restoration works, not surprising based on his heritage and love of history. The desk held more contracts and lists of endeavours and "things to do" along with quill and ink. At the back of one drawer, Harry found a secret compartment. It was spelled closed, but opened upon his touch. He lifted out an old, worn book.

Sitting back on the bed, Harry touched the book's lock and magic washed over him. Again, the lock opened for him and he turned to the inside cover. Words formed on the front page: The Personal Journal of Regulus Arcturus Black of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. It was his diary, and Harry found himself skimming pages of his friend's life.

The early entries were about his family life as a child. He had been happy playing with his brother until Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor. Harry flipped past the next few years while Regulus was in school, knowing it would just have trivial passages of his schoolboy activities. He paused and read a little bit from the December days they had spent together.

... a new kid named Harry who keeps to himself mostly. His eyes are both friendly and distrustful. I've never met someone who's so wary of others except my father and his colleagues, certainly not a student. What does he know? What are his secrets? He was studying the Founders in the library, not so unusual, but he was avidly looking for something. I offered to help him with the research. Maybe I'll find out what's so strange about him.

and another

Harry's so odd. He's very friendly and lively with me, but there is much that he keeps guarded. I do not think he's from an American school as he claims; he seems to know too much about England, some of the little things he lets slip from time to time. He's interested in Severus, too, which is a very strange thing as most people avoid Severus if they can and try not to make his acquaintance. Severus is harsh, I'll grant him that, but mostly he's just had a bad time of it. He complains about going home every summer, and he's always filled with eagerness to get back to Hogwarts after that. His family is poor, too, I know, and it doesn't help his attitude. Of course those damn Marauders don't help either. Just the other day ...

Harry didn't want to read more about them, so he jumped ahead to January.

... Severus acting so strange. He snarls at everyone! I just don't know what's gotten into him. And Harry, too, is starting fights all over the school. It's like they've both gone mad. Maybe that attack over the Christmas hols did more than just scare them. I don't know.

and later

Severus collapsed in class and was sent to the infirmary. We have no idea what happened.

and a few days after that

Damn it. Severus won't talk to me, except to snarl in my face! This is starting to get old.

and another

Great. Now Harry's been taken to see Pomfrey as well, and she won't let me see him. I'm really scared for my two friends. And it's got to be the Marauders' fault.

and a day later

Yep, it's their fault. Harry and Severus practically confirmed it. We'll have to devise a plan to get back at them, but they won't talk to me. It's like I don't matter anymore. And they are both grumpy as hell.

and then the day after Harry and Severus' joining, he read this entry

Well, this is new. My friends emerged from their dorms today smiling. So far they've been nice and easy-going and much less antagonistic. It's as if they've been hit with a personality reversal spell - such the oddest thing. I might have to investigate and find out what I can.

and a later

So Harry confirmed it; he and Severus are dating. No wonder they both look happy. And I'm happy for them, but it strikes me as strange that they would go from hateful to joyful in the span of one evening. Snogging might be nice and all, but it couldn't have altered their outlooks so drastically. Unless it countered whatever curse the Marauders placed on Severus to begin with. Yes, that makes more sense.

Harry then skipped another few pages in the diary to just after he had vanished.

No one knows where Harry is. He vanished from his bed in Hufflepuff one night and hasn't been seen since. Reports from that house say the Headmaster had his stuff removed from the dorm he was in and there is no word from any of the teachers in our classes.

Severus is beside himself with absolute fury. He's knocked over antiques and broken some furniture. He scowled at all of us today, including the professors, and even went so far as to slam his book closed in History and storm out of the classroom. I've never seen him so irritated.

and about a week later

He's gone. We are all certain that Harry has left England. No one's seen him or heard from him; there's no mention of his family anywhere. It's like he's just vanished into thin air. And Severus is not taking this well, which I don't blame him, seeing as they had just started a romantic liaison. One just doesn't up and leave one's boyfriend with no notice. Severus finally confided in me that he had been meeting Harry every night after curfew, and that they were supposed to meet again that night, but Harry never showed. Some suspect he was spirited away. Normally I would refute such a claim - a silly Muggle idea, really - but one just doesn't leave like that. Severus has gone off to sulk, and I feel sad, too. I miss Harry. He lit a fire in this school.

Harry was a little taken aback by this last, which hit so near the truth of his nature that he wondered how many people already knew or suspected his Veela heritage. Sighing he wondered how long he could keep it a secret.

Returning to the journal, Harry thumbed through several more pages, but most of it centered on his upcoming O.W.L.s. Then this passage captured his attention.

By now, dear diary, you know that Severus has been in a foul mood ever since Harry went missing. Well, it seems that foulness has led him to hanging around those dirty little buggers, Mulciber and Avery, again, and I suspect he's been playing around with Dark magic. Not that I'm opposed, mind you, as my family uses it enough, but I never thought the loss of a single love interest could turn someone so completely cruel. All traces of prior humour in my friend are gone. A stern, cold look has replaced the guarded curiosity. I fear this may be a change for the worse.

Harry was upset by these words. Had he caused Snape to become an arrogant bastard? Had his departure pushed the man into the Dark? Harry began hurting more. He closed the diary and lay back down on his side, curled up and holding himself while shivering from the possible repercussions of his actions. He didn't sleep again that night.

The following days were spent touring the house, reading books, examining all the facts about Horcruxes Harry knew, and outlining plans of attack. Since they were almost sure that the locket Regulus had recovered was Slytherin's, they concentrated their efforts into further research about Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff and their prized possessions.

"The Black family is really old," Harry told them, "so they might have some recollections from a thousand years ago about the Founders."

"Oh, good thinking," Hermione congratulated him. "It would be wonderful to find some sources that dated back that far."

"Maybe we can find more info about the Headmaster and Gellert Grindelwald, too," Ron added.

"Yeah."

So they all searched through the library as well as all the bedrooms for books, journals, newspapers and any other pieces of paper that might provide insights into the past. Although Harry had a great source of material in Regulus' diary, he was reluctant to share it with his friends for fear that Hermione would confiscate it and pore over every entry, harking on the ones that mentioned 'Harry Peverell' and confronting him with those. No, best to keep it to himself for now and continue reading it on his own. If there were significant passages pertaining to the Founders or Tom Riddle or the Horcruxes, then and only then would he even consider letting the others know of its existence.

They did come across several ancient volumes on the Black lineage and their political and economic dealings within the greater magical community dating back to the fall of Rome. It seemed pretty dry just like their History of Magic courses, but Hermione was determined to catalogue every possible lead. Ron did find a few journals in the master bedrooms, one that belonged to Cygnus Black and the others from older generations, which looked promising.

"What say you and I take these, Harry, and leave the bank accounts for her?"

"Sounds good. I'll take Cygnus' and one other and you can have those three."

"Afraid of a little research?" quipped Hermione from her place at the table, already surrounded by piles of parchment.

"No," Ron said sweetly, "Only afraid of burning my eyes out or my brain exploding from overload."

Hermione shot him a scathing look.

Harry burst out in a grin, the first one he'd had since the past.

"It says here that Helga Hufflepuff was very fond of her pottery and china, scouring lands on holiday looking for the most unique pieces of glassware or porcelain in existence. She brought many a treasured item back to Hogwarts that were put on display year-round and then used for special occasions or when state or foreign dignitaries visited. She seemed to covet beautiful items and even offered to buy some …" Ron looked more closely in the journal he was holding "... Czeckpolt? chafing dishes from the Blacks, if this diary's to be believed. Huh. So, maybe this cup we're looking for is at Hogwarts."

"That makes sense, Ron," Harry said. "I was placed in Hufflepuff for the duration of my time in the past and saw many items like that on display in the common room. Haven't you ever noticed that big display on your way to the library? Those were all her things as well, but none of them felt evil."

Hermione looked thoughtful. "I hope it's not somewhere in a dorm room, especially one of the girls', but it might be."

"I've passed by all the boys' rooms and nothing unusual was there."

"Did Helga have another residence?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head. "Not that I can tell. 'Mione?"

"Actually, the Blacks mention a cottage in the Highlands. A modest estate with goat farming. We should check that out."

"Okay, let's go."

They Apparated out to the Highlands and scouted the area for her summer home, as it was assumed that she would have gone here when school was not in session, even if that may not have necessarily been in summer. They found several private estates that gave the same impression as the descriptions Black had given, but upon checking with their current owners, the trio was able to rule them all out.

Near the end of the day, they came across a small farming village that bore the name 'Huffledon' and decided to investigate. Sure enough, the Hufflepuff family had resided here centuries before and had left several landmarks about the town and their great house a little further up the mountain. Everyone was buoyed by this news. Hermione insisted that they examine historical records first, much to the annoyance of Ron who wanted action and Harry who was feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders more and more every day, but she pushed for thoroughness and caution and they caved in to her resolve.

It proved fruitful as well. Helga was mentioned as the proprietor of the estate and had brought family from Holland to settle there. It did not list a birth date but did give a death date, which was consistent for the time period just after the building of the school. Hermione got directions to the cottage and they left for there.

The place was fairly large, but no wards, not even a low fence, guarded it. Harry thought that was strange, not to protect one's property, but this did seem like a nice, rural community. When no one appeared to be home, they let themselves in. Harry called for a house-elf, but none showed. He shrugged to his companions.

"Can you feel anything?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head.

Hermione turned to him. "Maybe we should just do a quick walk through the house, alright?"

Harry nodded his head to her, then turned and proceeded down corridors and rooms, checking for any magical signature, especially an evil one.

"Oh, how pretty!" exclaimed Hermione about twenty minutes later. She pointed the boys to a whole set of tableware that shone with gold.

"Wow," Ron said with both appreciation and a bit of greed in his eyes. "That is a nice set. But one cup seems to be missing. Do you think it's the one we're looking for?"

All of them examined the pieces.

"Oh, yes, maybe. These three cups have etchings in the metal - of eagles, griffons and snakes. The one for badgers is not here." Hermione took notes as she pointed this out.

"Could she have taken it with her to Hogwarts?" asked Harry.

"Quite possibly."

"So we're back to searching the dorms or the teachers' quarters, because there's nothing here. Great."

"No one said hunting was easy, mate," Ron said in reassurance.

They took their leave quietly once they had finished circling through the area outside the house. Nothing evil touched his soul from without, but it was already roiling with anger and betrayal from within, which had festered for almost a month now. It scared him. He wondered if he would go as dark as Snape seemed to have.

A/N: And there you go! No, Severus is not back yet, but soon, soon.

I hope this part of the Hunt makes more sense to everyone than the random wanderings they did in the book. Review with what you think!