Chapter 26 Cute Kids and Stressed Adults

Thanks to my beta, darrelldeam, for going over this for me. All mistakes are my own.

A couple of things, first this one pretty much stayed the same, but for combining two chapters. Second, just because they are flirting doesn't mean they are now couples. I remember flirting with boys when I was twelve. So yeah… it is just cuteness and nothing to be overly concerned about. Well that and the fact that the boys aren't ready. Third, yes some people will say that James should not have made a deal with the goblins, but if it saves them from having to go to war, and kills the Dork Lord sooner, I know I would have.

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November 14, 1992 Hogwarts

It was almost a week after the opening of the Chamber and the excitement had cooled some. The rumor mill was still going on who the parselmouth was. Because the Potter name hadn't come up with the press, other names were banded about. Names like Malfoy and Flint were popular ones, and Draco used it to make connections, though he never said he was the heir. He admitted to Harry that his father was proud of him, and was also using the rumors further his relations with his connections. The older twin laughed internally and just shook his head at their antics. It would all come back and bite them one day.

Something subtle was happening within the Mutineers, only the older students and the Staff noticed. It seemed that the children were pairing off. Susan sat with Gary at every opportunity. Daphne was more discrete and only sat with Harry if Tracey or her sister joined her. Even Neville seemed to pair with Hannah. Terry was spending a lot of time with Mandy. And Luna and Spencer were seen studying together. Since there were far more girls in the Mutineers most of them paired with those outside the group. Hormones were starting to sneak up on the kids and they didn't even notice. Sally hung around the boys a lot, but other than training, she let them grow, though she too noted the girls getting glint in their eyes, when her boys were around.

As it was Saturday the group was just hanging out at the Hufflepuff table, which most of the yellow and black House were starting to call the Mutineer table. But, since they were never asked to leave they didn't mind, that and they were all for inter-house relations. A lot of them had made friends in other Houses over the years and now sat with them while studying.

Susan was sidling up to Gary, moving closer and closer without him even noticing. They were talking about the upcoming Quidditch match, between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. It would be Gary's first game. Ravenclaw won against Slytherin in the first game with Harry catching the snitch in under an hour. This did cause a bit of tension between the older Potter twin and young Malfoy, but soon enough they got back to being friendly associates. Gary was proud of his brother, and made it well known with his cheering during the game.

Susan was an avid sports fan. She enjoyed all the sports she had been introduced to at the Potter manor. She especially liked football. It was as they were talking that she got an idea. "Gary," she said, batting her eyelashes, "do you think we can get a game of football going. We haven't had one all years. I know how much fun it was last year and over the summer. I think we should start a game today and get the blood pumping." Her eyelashes fluttered over her pink cheeks.

"Do you have something in your eye?" Gary asked, peering at her face in concern. "I can take you to see Madam Pomfrey. I'm sure she has a wash or something. Then when we get that taken care of we can see who wants to play. I have a ball in my trunk, but I don't want you to play if there is something in your eye. You might get hurt or something," he added as he started at her face to see what was causing her eyes to move like that.

"No," the girl huffed at the clueless boy, "there is nothing in my eye. It must be some dust or something. Why don't you get the ball and I'll drum up some kids to play?" She moved back and glared at her giggling friends.

Gary shrugged and went to do as suggested. As he was leaving the Hall, he did wonder why all the upper-years were trying not to laugh and all the females in the gang were giggling. It was annoying.

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Harry, who was sitting with Daphne and Tracey, shook his head at his brothers retreating back. Thanks to his questioning his mother after his 'non-date' he knew what to look for. His mum told him to leave it to Gary to ask her or let him figure it out for himself.

"Well," Susan said, standing and looking at all the smirking faces, causing her to blush and huff again. "You heard him. Let's get some teams up so we can play, but, only those who have finished their homework."

Groans could be heard from the less studious among them. Ron and Seamus had risen to join the group, but on hearing that and Hermione informing them they still had homework, they sat back down. While the two boys were not part of the Mutineers anymore, the group decided to leave them alone. They didn't want to be accused of favoritism. So they didn't go out of their way to antagonize anyone. It made life in the dorm easier as well.

The Slytherins that were part of the study group declined playing. They were going to watch. They had seen the game on the telly at the Potter manor that summer, and were not inclined to getting dirty. Daphne, Astoria and Tracey were among them. They would cheer for their friends. They all did hurry from the table to grab cloaks and outerwear. It was cold out. Harry decided to sit with the girls and let Susan show off for Gary.

Everyone who was going to play got up and went to put on thick casual clothes. Gary was in running pants and a long sleeved t-shirt. Most of the group dressed the same. Soon enough everyone was gathered at the Quidditch pitch. One of the upper-year Ravenclaws conjured a net between two of the goal posts and the teams were picked.

Susan was goalie for Team One, whose shirts were turned blue. And Gary was goalie for the other team, whose shirts were turned red. Harry worried that they were on opposite teams, and hoped that it didn't cause conflict. Upon seeing Susan's playful face, he figured that she was going to take the opportunity to show off.

As the game was being played Daphne once again broached the subject of Gary and Susan. "You know she is going to win, right?" she said from her seat next to Harry.

"I know," Harry sighed as he watched his brother block a goal. He stood up and cheered with the rest of the crowd and then turned to the girl beside him. "Mum told me to let him figure it out for himself," he explained.

"Oh, when did you ask her?" Daphne inquired.

"After that day at the park, I wanted to know what to expect from a girl. And how to know if I am being flirted with," the dark haired boy said, a blush on his cheek. He had made sure not to lead this girl on, but she seemed okay with that. He was only just starting to get over his 'girls are icky' stage, but was nowhere near ready to start dating.

"Oh, what did she say?" the Slytherin girl said slyly. She didn't make her move yet, but she did make it so that Harry thought her opinion was worthwhile. She always made sure to speak up and offer advice when needed. She also defended him and his brother in her House. With all the half-bloods supporting the Potters, it was easy to sway the more susceptible of the Slytherins away from the pure-blood mentality. Cunning was the name of the game after all.

"Well, it was kinda confusing. There were so many different ways one can be flirted with. Like what Susan did earlier, with the eyelashes. Plus, the way she is always scooting closer to him in Study Hall. I mean it is pretty obvious that she is flirting," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I've wanted to tell him so many times, but Mum said it was part of growing up. She wouldn't have told me if I hadn't asked."

Tracey and Astoria giggled, making Harry turn and look at them. They just looked back with such complete innocence that he just shook his head and turned back to the game. Just in time to see the red team score. He cheered again and sat back down.

Daphne, on the other hand, glared at her best friend and sister. She waited until the crowd settled to get back to the discussion. "So, your mum didn't tell you anything else?" she asked, worried that all her plotting was going to be for nothing.

"Nope, that's all she said," he confirmed. Lily knew how Daphne was flirting, but like Gary, Harry would have to find out for himself.

Daphne let out a sigh of relief and turned back to the game.

The two teams played for an hour and red team won. Susan ran to her friend and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek to congratulate him. Gary in turn told her what a good goalie she was and gave her a high-five, which for some reason made her pout.

It was after dinner in the Gryffindor common room that Gary got his first clue.

"So, Gary, our" said one of the redheaded terrors of Gryffindor as he jumped over the back of the sofa and sat next to the young boy.

"young friend, why" said his equally redheaded twin, who copied his brother, only on the other side.

"didn't you tell us you were"

"dating the lovely Miss Susan?" they said together.

"Ickle Gary is all" Fred started, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

"grown up now," his brother agreed with a sage nod.

"How did we miss it, Gred?"

"I'm not sure Forge, but look at him."

"Awww, so cute," the Weasley twins said together as they reached out and pinched the confused boy's cheek, causing said boy to glare.

"What are you two morons talking about?" Gary asked his teammates and fellow Mutineers.

"You didn't notice the batting of the eyelashes?" Fred said with a look of awe. He knew the boy was clueless, but surely his dad had given him The Talk.

"Or the way she sits so close to you?" said George, putting his arm around Gary's shoulders and looking at the light starting to dawn in the young boy's eyes.

"Or the way she makes sure you have you favorite treat?"

"Awww, you are soooo cute," they said again, each taking a cheek to pinch.

"Well, no I didn't really think anything of it," Gary said as he started to understand. "Wait! You mean she likes me?" he all but shouted.

The twins gave him a wicked smile, while they made their eyes look like he was dense.

"I mean, I knew she liked me," the dark-haired twin backtracked. "She kept holding my hand when we went to the park, but she said she wasn't allowed to date. I didn't think she liked me liked me," he defended himself. While his brother was out of the 'girls are icky' stage, he was more into the 'what's a girl' stage. To him Susan was a girl who liked sports as much as he did. Knowing she was flirting with him just left him confused.

"She may not be allowed to date, but she is marking her territory," Fred said as he waggled his eyebrows and winked.

"Don't worry though, your ickle brother is just as oblivious," George said as he waved his hands airily, trying to cheer their young friend up. It wasn't that long ago that he and Fred didn't like girls either. But now that they were older, well girls took on a whole new meaning.

"But… but… we're twelve, isn't that a bit young?" Gary sputtered, trying hard not to blush. Then again he did enjoy her company this summer and they held hands all day.

"Well," George drawled, "maybe a little."

"Let me ask you this, young Gary. Do you think she's cute?" his brother said in all seriousness.

"Well, yeah, she's cute and all, but so are a lot of other girls," Gary answered still, wondering how this conversation even came about.

"Then you are not in the 'girls are icky' stage, welcome to puberty," the Weasley twins said as they nodded wisely and dropped the subject. They changed to the upcoming Quidditch match and went over some of the plays that Wood was drilling in them. Gary was glad the subject was dropped and enthusiastically mused about his first game, hoping to do as well as his brother.

Meanwhile in the Ravenclaw common room

"Hello, Harry," came the dreamy voice of Luna Lovegood as she sat next to her friend.

"Hello, little Luna," Harry said, pulling her into a one armed hug.

"I see the Nargles are starting to float around your head. Do you need a necklace to chase them away? Or did you want to talk about it?" she asked with her large eyes focused on the air around his right ear.

"I'm not sure why the Nargles are there, Luna," he said, swatting the area above his head good-naturedly.

"That won't work, you silly boy. You have to figure out why they are there and then come to a logical reason to rid yourself of them," she said with a giggle.

"Oh, I wonder what is bothering me," came the reply as his face scrunched up with confusion. He didn't think anything was troubling him.

"Well, what did you talk about today?" Luna asked with all seriousness.

"Hmmm, let's see, I talked about Quidditch and homework, but I talk about those every day, so that's not it. Ummm, I talked about the football game…." Then he paused and remembered his chat with Daphne. "Ohhhh that might be it, I talked to Daphne about Gary and Susan," he said, snapping his fingers.

"So you talked about relationships?" Luna asked with a cute tilt of her blonde head.

"Yup, we talked about how Gary is totally clueless that he is being flirted with," Harry said proudly.

"Hmmm, I don't think the Nargles are here about Gary. You might want to think on who is playing with you, then maybe they will leave you alone," she said decisively and then got up and wandered away.

"What?" Harry called after her, only to be ignored.

Terry sat down and shook his head. "You really are naïve, aren't you?"

"What?" he repeated dumbly, racking his brain as to who he missed flirting with him.

"You do know what the word subtle means don't you?" Terry asked, kicking his feet up on a foot stool, and enjoying the other boy's confusion.

"Of course I know what that means… Ohhhh, I get it," he said, dawning finally came and Harry blushed to the tip of his fingers. How could he have missed it?

"I see you understand now," Boot said with a smirk as he rocked his reclined feet back and forth in a very relaxed manner.

"Well, yeah. At least she's cute. I still think we're a little young for dating though," the older twin said, settling down now that he figured it out. Daphne was attractive and since she was discrete he didn't mind her flirting. However, he was going to have to have a talk with her.

"Yeah, I said the same to Mandy," Terry nodded as he got more comfortable. It was nice to see the Potter twins clueless for once. "She said her dad wouldn't let her date for a few years anyway. But, it sure is fun to make her blush." He winked at his friend.

The two boys talked about girls for a little while then they, like so many other boys their age, turned the topic to sports and Gary's first game.

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The next day while Gary hid from Susan, Harry went to find Daphne. He found her in the library and went to sit next to her. "So, I figured something out last night. Luna told me the Nargles are gone, so I know I was correct in my assumptions," he said, after taking a book out and pretended to read.

"Oh," Daphne said confused, "I didn't know you had Nargles." She looked at the air above his head, and then shook her head at herself. She had never been able to see Nargles, but that never stopped her from trying.

"It's okay, like I said they're gone now. Anyway, someone told me I was being naïve, and that I was not seeing something right in front of my face. Something a girl was doing," he hinted and when he saw the blush on her cheeks he continued. "I just wanted to let this girl know that I'm okay with what's happening as long as it stays this way for a few years yet. Maybe it will bring us closer, me and this girl," he said fighting his own blush. Then he got up, nodded to her and left the table. She was a smart girl she'd catch on.

As Harry was making his way outside to get some air, Gary came running up to him in a state of panic. He worried for a moment that something else had happened, until his brother opened his mouth that is.

"Harry, Susan is flirting with me. What do I do?" he asked as he pulled his older brother outside and started walking to the lake. He was hoping to hide from Susan, until he figured out how to handle this new development.

Harry laughed and went with his insistent brother. "Who finally told you?"

"The Weasley twins. Why? Did you know?" Gary asked, pushing his twin's shoulder.

"Yeah, but don't get mad at me, Mum told me not to tell you," the older one said, shoving the other boy back.

"Why?"

"She said you had to figure it out for yourself. I had to do the same it seems," he answered with a shrug.

"Really?" Gary perked up at this. "Who?"

"Daphne."

"Well, she's cute, a little shy for my taste, but cute."

"Yeah. So I told her that I think we need to keep it light until we're older. She seemed to understand. Maybe you need to do the same with Susan," Harry said as he picked up a rock to skip over the lake.

"Yeah, that might work. I still think you're a prat for not telling me," Gary said, looking for his own rock to skip. "Or maybe I can try and… I don't know… flirt back. You know like holding hands and such. I think I'm ready for that. I mean, she really likes sports and that's a plus in my book."

"That is completely up to you and Susan," Harry said as the two boys got into a contest on who could get the most skips. The older twin didn't understand how his brother went from complete panic to acceptance. But then Gary had always been more outgoing than Harry. He went from being depressed over the public calling him the Boy-Who-Lived to just shrugging them off last year— maybe it was part of growing up.

Gary did find Susan later and told her about his talk with Harry and the Weasley twins. She said she'd have to ask her aunt, but figured handholding wouldn't hurt. Unfortunately, her aunt didn't agree. So they decided there would be no more flirting this year, though they did still sit together.

The Staff, Sally and ghosts watched all of this, and most of them agreed that young love was cute. Not Snape of course, but most. Dumbledore didn't offer his advice, though he was unsure of Harry's choice in a Slytherin girl. He had already stepped on too many toes recently and held his opinion to himself. Since the Chamber incident was quickly handled, albeit not by him, he still maintained his position as Headmaster. However, it was a close thing.

Time skip with a medium narration

The secret studying was going well. None of the gang stayed out after curfew, bar the boys when the trained with Sally, and used classrooms near their dorms. The twins talked about showing the RoR, but Sally nixed it. It was unfortunate that the upper-years had to study on their own, but there was little the kids could teach them. Though they did teach the Weasley twins some defensive spells; and those two taught the Quidditch team, and they taught their friends and so on, so it wasn't a complete loss.

The point system was finally the friendly competition it was supposed to be. Inter-House relations were at an all-time high. With Snape remaining more neutral than destructive, the points given were fair and even. The professors were happy, the Board was happy, and even Dumbledore was moved that things he had been preaching for years seemed to come to pass. Although the Headmaster felt it was his own doing and not that of a bunch of young children.

The only glitch in the year was Gilderoy Lockhart. That man was a menace, his continuous bragging and gloating was wearing on everyone's nerves. The way he would reenact his books showed even the most loyal fans of his that he was a fraud. Some of the girls enjoyed and utilized his beauty tips, which, as far as they could tell, were the only spells the man could do. His constant use of the Potter twins in class was also grating.

At least the second years had learned not to jump to conclusions after Professor Steele was berated in front of them. McGonagall had taken to have the two boys graded independently this year as well. Though with what the fraud was teaching it was a chore, since very little of his homework was one defense and mostly on his 'heroic' deeds.

The bright spot of the class was that Sally had suggested to a few of the Halloween Ghosts that had been soldiers to help the poor man along. So it was common to see a apparition in the class telling the students the correct way to do something, as they mocked the over-bearing blond professor, which in turn helped the upper-years. Since Gilderoy couldn't hex his way out of an open classroom, there was little the man could do. He tried to complain to Dumbledore, but was told these spirits had wills of their own.

Because Harry had never closed the way, the Chamber of Secrets was searched by curse breakers and a library was found. The books could not be removed from the room without them deteriorating. So the Board of Governors decided to let Alumni and Scholars come to the castle on weekends to make copies. During the week, after dinner and before curfew, the professors were allowed to give tours to the students. They weren't allowed in the library, but could view it from a roped off area. Professor Watts was the most enthusiastic in giving lessons about one of the great Founders.

Dumbledore was not pleased; it was something else that was out of his hands. He was losing more and more control of the school as the year went on. With his probation he didn't dare complain too much. He also left the Potter twins alone. He had done more research on the twin bond, even talked to Molly, and found that Harry had been correct. If he tried to separate the twins, he took the chance of making them squibs.

So now the Headmaster had to find a way to train Gary, and perhaps Harry, to defeat Tom when he returned. Maybe he could use this bond to make the boy hero stronger. Maybe he should make amends with the Potters, explain how he was wrong and try and work with them. He could use his past and get them to see that he could teach the boys, who judging by their grades could use more training. It was something to think about.

Ginny missed her diary friend for about a week. Then she realized that whoever took the book probably saved her life. After all her father warned her about trusting something that you couldn't see it's brains. So she shrugged it off and went about her business. She talked to the Potter twins and let her join the pro-security group, after she learned Occlumency.

Her twin brothers were ecstatic over that fact and helped her learn to keep it secret from the other two siblings in the school, which actually wasn't that hard. Ron was immersed in his own little group of friends. Percy was busy with his studies and trying to make sure he was Head boy next year. With the twins help in the mind art, Ginny now had a map and was given all the secrets of the gang.

The Christmas holidays came and went without fanfare. This year the Potters gifted everyone in the group with a new trunk. It was a three compartment trunk, because next year most of the kids would start their electives and have more books and homework. Those that had family trunks were given a certificate to either have the old one refitted or obtain a new one. Many chose the new as family trunks were heirlooms, and they didn't want to destroy family history. The other children were thankful for the gift, as well as the personal gifts given by the twins.

This year Ron didn't get a trunk, while they didn't fight with the boy, he still talked bad about them, and they decided not to award bad behavior. They would give the twins and Ginny their trunks on the train.

Most of the up-and-coming third years were taking three new classes next year; Arithmancy, Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. Only a few wanted to take Divination, like Parvati, Lavender, and Sally-Anne to name a few. And though the last two weren't part of the gang, so to speak, they were good friends of the group. Muggle Studies will see an all-time low in students, because the Mutineers had already shown half the younger years at Hogwarts how outdated it was.

There was a petition among the upper years to get a magic null room set up in Hogwarts, but no one was sure that it would work in a magic saturated castle. The Runes' and Charms' professors were looking into it so they could give the Board a report. There was also talk of a Muggle type library being built in Hogsmeade, complete with a computer room. It would be funded by a percentage of the proceeds of Pandora's Box, which would also expand to the village.

February 10, 1992 Gringotts

While the happenings of the school were going as well as could be expected, the Hunters were still scouring the wizarding world for the horcruxes. They had made little headway. So far the ring and the necklace were cleansed, with the help of Harry via the mirrors. They had given the diary to Amelia to use to negotiate with the goblins. The goblin in charge of vault security wanted to meet James, so here he was with Amelia waiting for that meeting.

They were sitting in a medium size room, which was decorated to impress and intimidate wizards. The table and chairs were large wooden monstrosities that were worn and pitted with what looked like sword marks. The outer rim of the room was lined with statues of goblin warriors of old. Their ferocious like visage made them look lifelike, as if they would spring in to action at any given second. Weapons were mounted on the walls, making almost every inch covered in bladed weapons. The lighting was kept bright so you could see the glint of metal, like it was warning you that these goblins had fought before and were not afraid to fight again.

James had to admit the room was impressive. It certainly did what it was designed to do. While he was admiring the weapons, three goblins walked in wearing their old-fashioned, but sharp business suits. One carried a briefcase in his spindly hands. The other two were armed. They marched in and sat opposite of two waiting humans.

"We have examined the diary you sent to us," started the one carrying the briefcase, "it is an abomination. Where did you come by it? And what do you want of us?" he directed his questions to James.

"Well, we are sure that the horcrux was made by You-Know-Who," the oldest Potter said, leaning forward with his hands on the table in a non-threatening gesture.

The goblin nodded, they had come to the same conclusion. He made a get-on-with-it gesture.

"What we would like from Gringotts is for them to examine the vaults of the Death Eaters to see if there are more. I remember my contract stating that cursed items were not to be stored in the vaults. I am sure Madam Bones has already made this request," James said as he looked at the goblin in charge with an inquiring eyebrow.

"Yes, she has asked us to do such. What we fail to understand is what is in it for us," the still unnamed goblin said, returning the movement in kind with his bushier eyebrow. "We have no means to extract a soul piece, we can destroy the article, but you could do that on your own. So again I ask, what do you want for Gringotts?"

James sat up straighter and said, "We can rid the item of the horcrux without destroying it. We've done so twice, so, no, we don't require that. However, I would think the goblins would want to keep He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named from coming back. With these horcruxes it is possible for him to do so," he added, not understanding the issue.

"You can truly do this?" the goblin asked, leaning forward with a greedy glint in his eyes. The treasures their curse breakers could recover would be worth buying the procedure.

"Yes, but you will have to talk to my wife, she is the inventor of the process," the messy-haired wizard said, making the goblin deflate. "How it is my turn to repeat, why won't you help?"

"During the last war we asked the Ministry for extra guards to help keep the bank secure. While the Dark Lord did not threaten our way of life, he did threaten our customers and that is bad for business. The Ministry said they would not spare people to protect the bank. So I ask again, what is in it for us?" the goblin snarled, his disgust showing on his wrinkled face.

"What do you want? I have little to offer, besides gold, and I know that goblins don't deal in gold," the wizard asked, going over anything he possessed that could sway the goblins.

"Our talks with Madam Bones indicated she was not here with the blessing of the Ministry. We concluded that you are a group of individuals that are working independently. We want what we always want, any goblin made artifacts that you may possess," the still nameless goblin smirked. It was something that wizards never gave up, for they didn't understand why something that was passed on to them should be returned to Gringotts. He figured this wizard would be the same. "Or the procedure you talked about earlier," he tacked on hopefully.

"As I said, you have to talk to my wife. However, if it is goblin made items you want—done," James said without thought. "And I'll even talk to my friends about doing the same. Though, I would like the option to repurchase the items. They have been in my family a very long time. Perhaps we can draw up a contract that upon my death my children will either negotiate with Gringotts to maintain the items or give them back."

All three goblins jaws dropped, Amelia looked just as stunned. This was not something they thought would happen. And had they asked before James got married it wouldn't have, it was Lily showing him the different cultures of the world, via the internet that made him realize that perhaps wizards had it all wrong in thrusting their beliefs on others beings.

"My name is Redaxe, and I am the head of security here at Gringotts. Madam Bones has indicated that there might be more horcruxes here at the bank. While we do have a clause in the contracts, we are still setting a precedent that will make us look untrustworthy. Nevertheless, I have permission from the committee to go forward," the same goblin said a bit of respect showing in his beady eyes. The other two goblins were still in a state of shock. Redaxe pulled out some parchment from the briefcase and placed it on the table. "I can search one vault for every three pieces of goblin worked item that you bring me, plus I would very much appreciate it if you asked Mrs. Potter to come and visit Gringotts."

"I'll talk to her," the wizard promised. "Now, the Potter vaults contain a small amount of goblin made objects. I will hand all of them to you, again with the option to repurchase them. Let's negotiate," James said, now comfortable in his stance with the goblins. "I must add that I can only negotiate what I own. Hence, the reason you must talk to Lily. So, the items that are used to house his soul pieces are not mine. I cannot bargain them," he added, tapping his finger on the table.

"Done. We will find the 'owners' and talk to them in person," the lead goblin stipulated.

James and Redaxe sat at the table for two hours going over what was in the Potter vaults and what the goblins were willing to have repurchased. Some items had been too long in wizard hands and the clans that made them would more than likely want to keep them as the treasures they were. The oldest Potter worked hard to keep some of the heirlooms in his family. The contract was worked so each generation had to have a meeting with the goblins to rework it. If the clan that made the heirloom died out or didn't want the item any more, then it was the Potters to keep and the goblins would write it off as a loss.

In the end a time was setup to look over six Death Eater vaults, all of whom were currently in Azkaban. Sirius and Remus were coming to talk about selling the Dark Object Crystals to them, to help with the search. However, Gringotts would not look into the vaults of anyone not incarcerated. They were going to send a letter to everyone that had a vault in the bank reminding them that, as per the contract, all cursed items should be removed, or vaults would be confiscated. The vault holders had one week to comply.

"I have a question that has always bothered me. Why do you keep the vaults open to people who are supposed to spend the rest of their lives in prison?" Amelia asked. The Ministry has tried many times over the years to confiscate the vaults of Death Eaters, but to no avail.

"As long as our client isn't dead, and the fee can be paid, which we extract automatically from the vault, we see no reason to close their account. Besides, there are always family members that can claim them upon the death of said client. You wizards and witches are so inbred that almost anyone can make such claim —especially the Lestranges," Redaxe answered with a sneer of disgust as such a practice.

James nodded with agreement. Sirius had told him how many families the Blacks were kin to. It really was quite disgusting how pure they kept their line. Even his family tree crossed itself a few times.

They left the meeting with the lead box that contained the diary. They had talked about writing in it to find out if it knew what the other horcruxes were, but decided that it was too risky.

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The next day James called the Hunters together to give them a briefing on what happened at Gringotts. After his report the Hunters talked about what to do next. Soon the meeting was called back to order.

"Okay, settle down everyone. Augusta, any new news?" James asked, after rapping his knuckles on the table.

"Well, from what little I have put together I know that a cup was passed down through the Hufflepuff family, and through the centuries made its way to Hepzibah Smith. She was a friend of mine. She always boosted that her family kept the cup as a priceless heirloom. In 1946, from what I could find out, she showed the cup to Tom, who, as you know, was at that time employed at Borgin and Burkes. She dazzled him, and when he asked, she stated she could never part with it. It was her family that also possessed Salazar Slytherin's Locket, which we already have. She kept them hidden even from her family members," the elder Longbottom said, and then paused to take a sip of tea and to create a dramatic effect.

James and the others chuckled. "Okay, enough with the drama. What happened to the cup?" he asked even if he found it amusing.

"Poor Hepzibah was found dead two days later," Augusta sighed, saddened by the news that her old friend might have been murdered by Riddle. "Her elderly house elf, Hokey, recalled putting poison in the poor dear's cocoa. Rumor, however, says that Riddle had embedded a false memory in the poor thing. We are very certain that Tom did the deed. It was at that time the vile man fled with the items. By the time her family realized the cup and the locket were missing, he had resigned his post and was neither seen nor heard of for a decade." She finished with a sigh. She was glad that she finally got some insight to what one of the horcruxes could be.

Lily smiled at the elder woman. "That's wonderful news. Well, not about Ms. Smith, but that he might have used the cup. Did you get any gossip on what else might have been obtained?" she asked, patting the elderly woman's hand to show she was sorry for her initial outburst.

"Well, Tom did ask many people about the Gryffindor sword and dagger. Slytherin was also said to have a cane, much like Lucius', but that has never been confirmed. Some of the Alumni of his year said he took an interest in the Ravenclaw ghost. It might be pertinent to have someone question her about what they talked about. The Bloody Baron was also seen spending a lot of time with him," Augusta said as she took back her hand and sipped her tea, with a proud look on her aged face.

James and Lily shared a look and nodded with understanding. "I'll ask one of the boys to talk to Professor Watts," the male Potter said, and then turned to the three men who made up Team One. "Have you found anything?"

Kenton nodded. "We went to the orphanage that Riddle grew up in. It's empty now, but we got in and searched the whole building. We didn't find any cursed objects, so we searched the offices. There was paperwork that mentioned his time there. Seems he was quite the bully, terrorizing the other orphans and such. There were some notes that he might have killed a pet, but it was never confirmed. There was mention of a cave, so we checked it out. It took us hours to get through the traps. We almost lost Wayne to the Inferi. We got out alive, as you can see, but barely," he said with a shrug. They knew this would be dangerous when they volunteered.

"There was a chalice that had a potion in it," Wayne took up the story. "You had to drink the potion to get to the necklace. We drilled a hole in the bottom and let it drain out. It took forever, but finally it emptied. The locket that we found inside, as you know, was a fake. There was a note in it that states someone with the initials R.A.B. knew what Riddle was up to, and they said that they took pride in stopping him. The poor man died not knowing that there was more than one horcrux. We think he was a Death Eater." Then he shuddered and continued, "It was as the liquid hit the lake that the Inferi attacked. I almost died in the fight to get free."

There were many sympathetic noises made among the rest of the group. Then a clatter of a cup dropping on the table was heard. Sirius stood and with a drawn face asked, "Do you still have the note?" His hands shook as he looked at Kenton with wide eyes.

"Yeah, sure," Kenton said and withdrew the parchment from his pocket along with the fake locket. He handed the note to the shocked man and waited with the rest of the team to see what had Sirius so shook up.

Sirius took the note with unsteady hands, not wanting to believe what he was thinking. He unfolded it and in a shaky voice read aloud;

"To the Dark Lord

I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more.

R.A.B."

Sirius upon seeing the handwriting of his younger brother dropped back down into his chair. The piece of parchment fluttered to the table from his nerveless hands. Suddenly guilt overwhelmed him, he put his hands on his face and his shoulders started to shake.

"Sirius, what's wrong?" Lily asked, getting up to comfort the distraught Marauder. The rest of the group looked on, not understanding what could bring on such a violent reaction.

"Dear Merlin, all this time… I was so wrong… I could have helped… He didn't have to die…" the dark-haired man rambled. Great sobs shook his form as he cried for his brother.

Remus picked up the discarded note and realized what the problem was. He handed the note to James and went to comfort his friend.

"I see," James said with a sigh. He then turned to the other Hunters. "This was written by Sirius' younger brother."

"I thought you guys didn't associate with him in school. How would you know his handwriting?" Wayne asked, having seen the Marauders terrorize the younger Black and Snape in school.

"We use to steal the homework from him and Snape. We'd hide it and then put it back after the assignment was due," James explained. "We were bullies in school, there is no excuse for what we did," he offered with a shrug. What was done was done. "I think we should end the meeting here. We'll give Padfoot time to adjust and then meet back up in a week."

The rest of the team nodded and took their leave. Lily and the Marauders spent the rest of the night giving words of encouragement to Sirius. Letting him know he had no way of knowing that his brother had tried to rid the world of Voldemort. It took a long time; Sirius was too overcome by guilt. He did pull it together enough to continue the hunt for the horcruxes, which he threw himself into with vigor. He would make it up to his dead brother by finishing what Regulus started.

During the week the goblins did find the cup and another meeting was held. Ten goblin artifacts were given for the item, after all they only negotiated to search for the cursed object, not to hand it over —the greedy buggers. The Hunters cleansed it and continued the search for more. They were hopeful now that four horcruxes were cleansed. Just how many time can one render their soul?