I, London Man, did NOT write this story. This was written by Frosty. I am just hosting it because EF was going to cancel their account. EF allowed me to have them on my site so people can read or reread them if they wanted.

I did NOT steal this story. Also, I want to thank Frosty for letting my host their stories.

Chapter 52: Invitation

Harry Potter and the Setting Sun

Disclaimer: HarryPotter by J.K. Rowling, the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer and all related materials belong to their respective owners. This is non-profit fanfiction.

Warning: This story contains slash.

Chapter Fifty-One – Invitation

"Ah, Harry! Right on time," the headmaster greeted when the young vampire arrived for his second clandestine meeting with the headmaster at the Hog's Head Inn and Pub.

Although the newborn understood the importance of meeting with the headmaster, he'd found it incredibly difficult to attend the meeting. He and Edward had spent much of the previous thirty-six hours lying in one another's arms talking about everything and nothing; it was Harry's idea of heaven.

"Good evening, headmaster," Harry greeted as he and his family entered the small room on the second floor of the Hog's Head.

The old wizard turned to look at Mad-Eye Moody. The grizzled Auror was standing next to the fireplace, ready to spring into action at the slightest provocation from the vampires.

"Alastor, I was wondering if you'd step out into the hallway for a few moments so that Harry and I may talk in private."

The Auror sent an irritated glare towards Harry's companions. "And I suppose you'll be letting the bloodsuckers remain."

"Actually, I was rather hoping that they would step outside with you as well. Except for Edward, of course."

"No," Harry said firmly. "There is nothing you can say to me that I won't share with them later. There are no secrets in our family."

"Very well then, Harry. Alastor, if you please," Headmaster Dumbledore said as he motioned towards the door.

Even after the Auror had gone into the hallway, the vampires could still hear his grumbling about how the headmaster was keeping almost all of the members of the Order of the Phoenix in the dark about what it was he was searching for and where he was going. The 'bloodsuckers,' he spat venomously under his breath, were bound to turn on the old man at the first opportunity.

"I believe I should start off by conveying Sirius's thanks for returning the body of his brother, Regulus. You have helped to redeem him in Sirius's eyes. Your godfather has also asked me to convey his desire to meet with you. He feels most dreadful for what transpired between you the last time you met."

"I'll consider it," the dark-haired vampire replied evenly.

"Excellent. We may have to revisit that matter later in our conversation due to some developments of the last twenty-four hours. But before we do, I wish to tell you about my inquiries into the locket."

"Did you find anything?" Edward asked anxiously.

"I have a new lead on the real Horcrux's whereabouts. I interrogated the portraits and house elf of the Black home. The elf, Kreacher, was most especially fond of Regulus. It appears that the feelings were mutual.

"Upon Voldemort's command, Regulus sent Kreacher to test the defenses of the cave. Based on some of the more arrogant hints that Voldemort dropped, Regulus was able to deduce what was being guarded in the cave and made sure to order Kreacher to return to him once he'd done as Voldemort asked. So, although Voldemort left the elf to die in the cave at the hands of the inferi, Kreacher was compelled to use his house elf magic to bypass the wizarding magic sealing the cave and return to his master's home. Kreacher then led Regulus back to the cave where the young man obtained the Horcrux and sent it back to the Black residence with his elf."

"Would it be too much to hope for that the Horcrux was still there?" Emmett asked uncertainly.

"Sadly, yes. It appears that the locket was removed from the house some months ago by a member of the Order. The locket was uncovered during the course of cleaning the Black residence. Mundungus Fletcher, an Order member with some very useful contacts in the less savory parts of the community, stole the locket from the house. He was caught illegally selling magical artifacts in Diagon Alley and gave the locket as a bribe to the Ministry official that caught him in return for letting his offense go unpunished."

"Do you know who the Ministry employee is?" Edward asked.

"Yes. Her name is Delores Jane Umbridge. A most odious woman. Quite the Pureblood supremacist. Under orders of then-Minister Fudge, I was forced to accept her as a professor at Hogwarts for a time. More notably, however, I believe that it was she who sent the dementor to attack Harry on the night he fled from his relatives' house in Surrey," the headmaster explained.

For a brief moment, Harry felt a bit of gratitude towards the woman he had never met. She sounded awful, but she had set in motion the series of events that led to Harry and Edward meeting, falling love, and getting married. The moment of gratitude was short-lived, however. She had tried to murder him, after all.

"So this Umbridge woman has the locket?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I have intentionally had cause to speak with her in the last two days and have seen her wearing the locket about the halls of the Ministry of Magic. I have made a duplicate of it that I intend on switching with the original, but have not yet had the opportunity to actually carry my plan out," the wizard explained as he pulled the aforementioned fake locket from his robes. Unlike the small gold locket that had been at the bottom of the basin, the replica of the real horcrux was large, heavy-looking, and decorated with a series of emeralds in an 'S' pattern.

"That's great," Alice said. "You should be able to get that Horcrux pretty soon then, right?"

"Yes, I should."

"How did you recognize the locket Umbridge was wearing as the real horcrux?" Edward asked suspiciously as he looked at the replica in the wizard's hand.

"That is what I wanted to discuss with Harry next," the headmaster said. "I have a theory about what the next Horcrux is: a small, golden cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff."

"How did you figure that out?" the newborn asked.

"One of the memories that I obtained about Tom's younger days dealt with his encounter with a very wealthy witch named Hepzibah Smith. She possessed two very sought after artifacts: a cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff and a locket that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. I suspected that these objects were used as Horcruxes, but I wasn't sure. I wasn't even sure that Tom had stolen the objects. I knew that he coveted them and that Hepzibah Smith died under mysterious circumstances—supposedly poisoned by her house elf—but nothing more. The locket that I saw around Delores Umbridge's neck, however, was most definitely the locket of Salazar Slytherin."

"And given how you traced the locket to Umbridge and the way that both it and the cup were coveted by Voldemort, it stands to reason that Voldemort likely used the cup as a Horcrux as well," Edward concluded.

"Precisely. And the ring Horcrus was a family heirloom of the Gaunt family. They were the line from which Tom Riddle's mother was descended and, to my knowledge, the last direct line of Slytherin. I believe that Voldemort, who has always placed great weight on the purity of one's blood despite his own status as a Halfblood, is using items related to great and powerful Pureblood wizards and witches to cement his immortality."

"So when looking for future Horcruxes, those sort of items are prime candidates," Carlisle said.

"A cup and a locket . . ." Harry muttered quietly.

"I beg your pardon?" the headmaster asked.

"Sorry, it's nothing."

"Please, Harry, if you have something to add, do not hesitate."

"It's just that there's something oddly familiar about Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket. I know I've heard about them somewhere before, but I just can't put my finger on it," the vampire explained. He mentally cursed the way all of the memories of his life as a human were so clouded.

"The objects are referenced in many books as some of the only artifacts of the four founders of Hogwarts that are known to actually still exist. Other relics, such as the Sword of Gryffindor, were usually considered lost to history because they have been hidden out of the public's sight. Many other supposed relics that are featured in some of the more fantastic tales of the the four founders likely never existed in the first place. The cup and the locket, however, have always been owned by a prominent witch or wizard who often flaunted them to promote their own status. Right up until Hepzibah Smith's murder, that is. Perhaps you saw some reference to them while researching one of the various mysterious you tackled as a student."

"Maybe. I just feel like there's some clue staring me in the face and I'm missing it," Harry said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure that it will come to you," the headmaster said. "And that brings us to the third topic of the evening. I am afraid, however, that I may not be the best person to discuss it."

"Then who is?" Harry asked.

"Severus Snape."

"Oh joy," Rosalie muttered softly.

Rosalie's lack of enthusiasm paled in comparison to Harry's thoughts about the man. Snape had always been a touchy subject with Harry, but things had gotten worse in recent days, and only in part because the man had openly advocated erasing Harry's memories. There was also the issue of the prophecy. Harry knew that someone had eavesdropped on the prophecy and told part of it to Voldemort. It was because of the eavesdropper's actions that Voldemort went after Harry as a child. The young vampire knew that Snape had been in Voldemort's service and that Dumbledore, for some insane reason, trusted him. It made perfect sense to Harry that Snape would be the one to have caused his parents' deaths. He couldn't prove it yet, but he intended to find out the truth before everything was said and done.

"A matter has arisen that Professor Snape needs to discuss with the entire Order of the Phoenix. He has discussed the matter with me, and I'm afraid I have been unable to satisfactorily remedy the situation. I would, therefore, ask that you consider attending a meeting of the Order to hear about the situation and provide your input," Dumbledore said.

Harry chewed on the inside of his cheek while Jasper asked, "When is the meeting?"

"As soon as I return to Sirius Black's home," the wizard answered. "I understand completely if you do not wish to attend; I apologize for springing this upon you in this fashion. If I had been able to give you more forewarning, I would have. But the matter arose late last night."

"So this is what you meant earlier about 'revisiting' the topic of Harry seeing his godfather?" Esme asked.

"Yes, it was," the headmaster replied. "Again, I entirely understand if you do not wish to attend this evening's meeting. If you decline, then I will relate to you what I know of the situation now, bid you good evening, and then update you when next we meet."

"I'll go," Harry said after his moment of indecision passed. "There's no reason why I can't."

"Excellent," the headmaster said in a surprisingly subdued tone. "Then I believe the next step is to tell you all the Secret."

"There's a secret involved?" Emmett asked.

"The Secret about the location of the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters. Sirius Black's home was chosen as the headquarters for the Order because it already had virtually all of the protections imaginable on it. I added the Fidelius Charm, which was one of the few protections not already in place," the head of Hogwarts explained.

"Harry has told us about that charm, professor," Carlisle interrupted before the wizard could begin detailing the charm to the vampires.

"I suspected as much," Albus Dumbledore said with a nod of his head. "I am the Secret-Keeper and so am the only one who can tell you where the residence is located. Once I have told you where the house is located, we will portkey a short distance away from the home."

"Why not just porkey directly into the house?" Edward asked.

"The Minister of Magic is very interested in where I go when I leave school grounds. He has been monitoring all portkeys, authorized or otherwise, that leave Hogsmeade. That is why we apparated to the cave the other night. Portkeying to a harmless street in a Muggle city is far less suspicious than transporting to a location that the Ministry cannot find.

"Now, if there are no more questions. The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London."

After a moment of silence passed between the assembled group, Emmett asked, "That's it?"

"Whatever do you mean, my dear boy?"

"I figured that there'd be more to it. You know, flashy lights and stuff."

The headmaster chuckled as Rosalie smacked her husband on the back of the head. "I am afraid there is nothing flashy about revealing the Secret."

"No one ever does any of the cool magic in front of me," Emmett groused.

"Would one of you please fetch Alastor?" the wizard requested.

As requested, Emse—who was standing nearest the door—invited the wizard back into the room. Moody hadn't stopped grumbling the entire time he was out in the hall and didn't stop grumbling as he made his way to stand next to the headmaster.

"Alastor," Dumbledore began, "Harry and his new family will be accompanying us to the meeting this evening." The Auror was about to protest, but the headmaster didn't give him the chance. "We will be portkeying to the Black residence in just a moment."

The headmaster walked over to the fireplace and removed a very tarnished candlestick from the mantle. He placed the object on the floor before touching it with his wand and incanting "Portus." The silver-haired wizard motioned for the Cullen family to encircle the object. "Now, everyone touch the portkey on three. One. Two. Three!"