"So, our lesson from our journey?" Harry asked when they landed back in the living room of Black Manor.

"There are greater injustices in the world than Umbridge."

"But none of them need to be suffered through."

Harry nodded. "See you again with the new school term?" he asked.

The Twins nodded and, with their trunk enlarged again and carried between them, headed for the fireplace.

Harry steeled himself to face the music – literally – of his 'sweet sixteen' party preparations. Damn débutante ball held in his honour. He may have been a slightly horny teenager, more than happy to kiss a pretty face and get his hands on a nicely shaped rear, but he wasn't really interested in dating right now.

~oOo~

Once the school year started, Harry was very disappointed to learn that Snape had been replaced as the potions instructor. Oh, he was happy for the man, he'd finally gotten the position he'd always wanted – DADA teacher, though for the life of him he couldn't think why anybody would want a position with a long history of nobody lasting quite the full year. Still, Slughorn was a slimy-friendly sort of guy. Very much the social climber, and didn't mind acting as the ladder for others if it was possible that they'd remember him for it.

The Defence Club was reinstated at least, and the students did benefit from Snape and Flitwick taking turns supervising. Flitwick guiding the students through anything they were having trouble with, and Snape teaching them more spells. Snape also taught all the students who came to the Defence Club exactly what they could expect from the Dark Lord now that he was out and about once more.

Harry was surprised to hear that. Apparently, while he'd been away, Voldemort had been seen in the Ministry of Magic, after a prophecy or some such nonsense. Not that Harry didn't believe in prophecy, but he was aware that they were generally self-fulfilling more than anything else. Far more reliable to scry the present or past than attempting the future.

Snape also told Harry, privately, that he had discovered how Voldemort had manage to come back – his soul was still attached to this world by workings of the worst sort of magic.

"Must have been what that diary was back in second year," Harry commented when he got this news. "Any idea how many he's got?"

"Seven is a magically significant number," Snape suggested dryly.

Harry nodded and conjured a crystal.

Snape blinked, then sneered. "Didn't take you for a believer in divination Mr Potter," he said.

"Not of the future," Harry answered. "But I'm looking into the past. Where he put each of these things and what happened to them after he left them, just in case they moved."

A vision of the diary was first. Harry brushed that one aside. He knew the answer to that inquiry. The second vision was of a locket, which later was removed from its hiding place by Sirius' younger brother and discovered by Sirius when Kreacher was struggling to destroy it. An explanation later and the locket was destroyed as well. Harry moved on. Two down, five to go.

The third was a ring, a ring that had rested on Voldemort's finger until he had left it, booby-trapped in his old house, just waiting for Dumbledore to find and end up cursed, if the man's mumbling and chuckling was anything to go by.

"It's still there, if you feel like getting rid of a senile old man," Harry offered innocently.

Snape snorted in barely suppressed amusement. "Tempting, Mr Potter," he answered.

The fourth item was given to Bellatrix LeStrange and put in her vault, guarded by a spell so that it couldn't be removed by just anybody. That one would have had to wait, but had been the one used to resurrect Voldemort, and so was no longer an issue. The fifth was...

"That's just down the hall," Harry observed. "How convenient."

"We will get to it later," Snape said firmly. "There are two others yet, though."

Harry nodded, returning his attention to the ball in his hand.

Sixth was Voldemort's snake, Nagini, and seventh...

"Well, that is interesting," Harry commented with a smirk, amused. "It will be good to finally meet her, and thank her for her generosity. Ah, but that one can wait. Riddle himself doesn't know where that one is."

Snape did not appreciate the lackadaisical attitude, but had to agree with the boy. Voldemort didn't know where that last piece of his soul was, so it could wait, and besides, Harry would need something to purchase it with.

"So, shall we deal with the one that's just down the hall now or tomorrow?" Harry asked, vanishing the ball and standing up.

"Now, Mr Potter," Snape answered curtly.

Once it was dealt with, Harry took Snape down to the Chamber of Secrets to gather some basilisk venom that he could slip the snake, and possibly the Dark Lord as well, which would leave only three, possibly two pieces of soul to eradicate.

Harry wouldn't find out until after the summer holidays if Snape had managed to poison only one or both, and he'd have the same wait to find out if the professor would let slip to Dumbledore about the ring. Until then, Harry wasn't going to think about Voldemort once.

~oOo~