Dumbledore looked genuinely surprised to see the Black brothers landing on his hearth rug.

"No chimney sweep yet?" asked Regulus, attempting to lighten the atmosphere.

"We've got the memory," said Sirius, after glancing around to be sure they were alone.

"Outstanding," said the headmaster. "Are we to proceed without Remus?"

"He'll be here soon," said Regulus. "He had to find a babysitter."

The fireplace roared again as Remus joined them. "Madeline was more than happy to watch them. I think it helped that they are already asleep."

"Well, then," said Dumbledore, motioning to the chairs and retrieving the pensieve from the cabinet. "Let us continue the tale of Tom Riddle, beginning with the true conversation he had with Professor Slughorn."

After he stirred the memory, the four of them done in and listened to the true conversation. After about five minutes, they were pulled back to reality.

"Seven…" whispered Sirius. "He wanted to make seven horcruxes?"

"Is it even possible to split your soul into that many pieces?" Asked Regulus. "I mean, he certainly killed that many people."

"I do not know," Dumbledore admitted. "Even Grindelwald did not attempt such things. This is… unprecedented."

"We've only found two horcruxes," said Sirius. "Which means we have to find five more."

"And that's if he managed to make all seven," said Regulus. "Knowing Voldemort, he wouldn't have settled for just anything."

"His first two had meaning," said Remus. "The ring and the locket were both family heirlooms."

Sirius rubbed his chin. "The ring once belonged to the Peverell and the locket was Slytherin's."

"The Peverell brothers were quite famous," added Remus. "As was Slytherin. Perhaps he was after artefacts such as these."

"There are too many to count, and that's just in Britain." Sirius sighed. "The pensieve itself is an artefact."

"Your theories are not far off," said Dumbledore. "At least, not far from my own. However, perhaps we should view the rest of the memories before coming to any concrete conclusions."

He poured the next memory into the pensieve, belonging to a House-Elf named Hokey. They followed Riddle, now an employee at Borgin and Burke's, to the house of Hepzibah Smith, who fawned over the handsome young man, showing him dazzling objects. One of these happened to be a cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. As quickly as they came, they were pulled back to Dumbledore's office.

"Hepzibah Smith?" Asked Sirius. "I remember reading about her in old case files. She was found dead in her home, and her House-Elf, Hokey, took the blame."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, much like Morfin Gaunt did for the deaths of Tom Riddle, Sr. and his parents."

"Voldemort killed her, too, then." said Remus. "And he must have done it to steal one of the artefacts she showed him."

"You assume correctly, Remus," said Dumbledore. "For the only item that could not be found amongst Hepzibah's belongings was the cup of Hufflepuff."

There was silence for a few moments as they all mulled things over in their minds. "Alright," said Sirius. "He has a fixation on his own past, so he steals two family heirlooms."

"He's a bit dramatic," said Regulus. "So he probably only made horcruxes for significant deaths, without even knowing it. For the ring or the locket or both, he killed his own father and grandparents."

Sirius stood up. "Okay, I'm Tom Riddle and I've got the locket Salazar Slytherin. I want to create seven horcruxes."

Regulus joined in. "You're a collector. You have a fascination with magic and history."

"Right, especially my family," said Sirius. "But I have my family's heirlooms. What else was important to me?"

"Hogwarts," said Remus. "Hogwarts was your first home. You knew you were special and this school proved that to you. You've already got something of Slytherin's."

"That's it!" Cried Sirius. "And now this naive woman has shown me another item belonging to a founder. How can I resist?"

"That must have been the moment he realized he could make his plan a reality," said Regulus. "So he kills Hepzibah Smith and turns the cup into a horcrux."

"Brilliant," said Sirius, sitting back down. "and he probably hid it somewhere significant, like the underground lake and Gaunt house."

Remus looked thoughtful. "There aren't many artefacts left of the founders. Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket… Gryffindor has a sword, and, I suppose, the Sorting Hat. And Ravenclaw has a… diadem… but most scholars believe it to be a myth."

"Diadem?" Asked Sirius. "Like a tiara?"

Remus nodded. "It was supposed to grant the wearer wisdom and knowledge."

"Incredible," said Sirius. "And what happened to it?"

"No one knows," said Remus.

"There's someone who might," said Regulus. "But we'll get to that later. First, I think we can safely assume he didn't get all of those objects."

"Thankfully not," said Dumbledore. "The sword and hat remain untouched. The diadem, however, I cannot vouch for."

"He was clever," said Sirius. "If it exists, then I'm sure he found it."

"Let us continue," said Dumbledore. "As you all know, Riddle was working for Borgin and Burke's after finishing Hogwarts. However, shortly after the death of Hepzibah Smith, he disappeared. He was not seen nor heard from for quite some time. Until, that is, the Defense Against the Dark Arts position reopened."

They dove into the memory of Dumbledore himself once more, where the headmaster declined young Riddle's request to teach at Hogwarts. It was clear there was something different about him. Something… unsettling.

When they were back in Dumbledore's office, the headmaster said, "Coincidentally, we have not been able to keep a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for more than a year since Riddle was denied the position."

"So it really is a curse?" Asked Sirius.

"Perhaps," replied Dumbledore. "That is the last of the memories I collected. With all of them, I am certain that we will convince the Minister of the threat as well as Regulus' innocence."

Sirius nodded. "For now, we should assume that the next two horcruxes were the cup and the diadem, and consider everything we know, everywhere he ever went, to figure out where he hid them."

"Hogwarts was significant to him," Remus reminded them. "He may have hidden one here."

"The castle is like a maze," said Regulus. "There's no way we can search it all in our lifetime."

"Well, it would help we had a map," said Sirius.

Regulus rolled his eyes. "Good luck convincing Filch to return your bloody map to you, then."

"We'll worry about that later," said Remus. "Reg, didn't you say there was someone that might know what happened to Ravenclaw's diadem?"

Regulus glanced at the portraits of old founders around the room before answering. "Well, there are two, actually. But getting them to talk is quite difficult. Do you two know the Ravenclaw and Slytherin ghosts?"

"The Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron?" asked Sirius.

"They weren't always called that," said Regulus. "In fact, the Grey Lady's real name is Helena Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw's daughter?" asked Remus. "And the Bloody Baron?"

"Was a Baron," said Regulus. "No one knows his real name, but he was in love with Helena Ravenclaw, and they died together. If anyone knows what happened to Ravenclaw's diadem, it would probably be her daughter."

"Indeed, that is intriguing," said Dumbledore. "I must ask you, however, not to explore Hogwarts whilst school is in session. Your search for Helena Ravenclaw and your map will have to wait until the holidays."

"We understand, Professor," said Remus. "Is there anything else you need of us?"

"Only one," said Dumbledore. "Regulus, I know it is painful, but I believe it would help your case if you were to show the Minister your memories of the underground lake, as well as Barty Crouch, Jr.'s actions."

"Of course, sir," said Regulus. "H-how do I…?"

Sirius quickly explained how to draw a memory from his temple and place it in the vial using his wand.

"Thank you, Regulus," said Dumbledore, carefully placing the memory alongside the others. "Now, do the three of you have plans tomorrow? You see, I intend to have a very important guest here and I believe it would be in your best interests to be present as well."

"You're inviting the Minister tomorrow?" asked Sirius.

"The sooner Regulus is free to be himself, the better, don't you think?" asked the headmaster. "I know I have asked you to wait on your horcrux hunt, but there is no sense in waiting for this."

They couldn't argue with that, nor did they want to. With many thanks to the professor, they slipped back through the fireplace, where Madeline was waiting patiently for them. The children were still fast asleep in their beds, and the adults groggily made their way to their own to join them in Dreamland.


Well, they are making progress with the horcruxes. Before anyone brings it up, I would just like to say that the reason Dumbledore started his investigation so early is because they found the locket.

My theory has always been that Dumbly was collecting memories centered around Riddle for years before Harry attended Hogwarts, but he didn't make the connection with any of them until he came across a horcrux by coincidence. In this case, it was the locket, whereas the diary served as a catalyst in the books.

On a side note, someone asked a while back if we'd ever see the conversation between Dumbledore and Snape. I will not make promises.

Truth is, Sirius walked out of there because he already knew why Dumbledore had sent Harry to the Dursleys. Dumbly had already explained it, in the story, in chapter 9 (Yes, I went back and checked - sorry, but I don't have great memory even about my own writing. I keep extensive notes because of this and lists are my best friend).

I'm just not sure how frightening Snape might have been to Dumbledore. I mean, we've seen what their private conversations look like in Snape's memories, and Dumbledore kind of scares Snape rather than the other way around. So that is why I say maybe.