Notes: Here's another chapter! So many updates in such a short amount of time; thank you for all the reviews, can you believe this is chapter 56? Same disclaimer applies to this chapter as it did to the previous 55 chapters.

Chapter 56: The Locket

Harry wandered through Grimmauld Place after an Order meeting, lost in thoughts about horcruxes, while Ron and Hermione were in the kitchen. They were allowed to visit Grimmauld Place to see Fred and George but were not allowed near any official information. As he passed a glass cabinet, a flash of gold caught his eye. Pausing for a second look, Harry spotted a chunky locket with a large "S' on the face. He recognized it as a Slytherin heirloom. Behind him a voice called out his name. Turning, Harry saw Hermione climbing the stairs towards him.

"Harry! What are you looking at?" asked Hermione, slightly out of breath from her rush up the stairs.

"Nothing," Harry said, looking away from the locket.

"Don't lie Harry," said Hermione in her stern voice. "What is it?"

"Oh, cool!" said Ron, appearing behind Hermione and pushing his way into the room. "Is that a locket? Looks old, here, let me see what picture is inside, maybe it has pictures of Sirius as a kid." He tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge.

"This is silly," said Hermione. "Lockets are supposed to open!"

"Hermione, this is Slytherin's locket," Harry said. "Perhaps we should not be messing with it. Let's take it to Dumbledore."

Before Hermione could answer, Ron brightened up and said, "Slytherin was a parselmouth so maybe its charmed to only respond to Parseltongue!"

"Good idea Ron!" said Hermione.

Harry looked worried but spoke to the locket, "Open."

The locket burst open, and the three friends shrieked as a high, cold voice began speaking from a shadowy cloud.

"You cannot destroy me! Hmm', a mud-blood!"

Harry hurriedly forced the locket closed. He realized is horror that this locket must be a horcrux.

"What is this?" Hermione squeaked, a terrified look on her face.

"This is a very dark object," Harry said.

"What now?" Ron asked shakily.

"I have to get this to Albus," Harry said, dashing out of the drawing room and running down to the kitchen where Albus stood talking with Tonks.

"Albus!" he said. "I found a horcrux, its encased in this locket!"

Harry set the awful locket on the table and waited. One look at the locket and Albus sent Harry through the floo to get Gryffindor's sword. Ron and Hermione appeared at the kitchen's entrance just as Harry disappeared in the flames.

Within minutes, he returned with the sword, passing it to Albus. Albus stabbed the locket. There was a scream, then silence.

Hermione gasped, "What was that?"

Harry looked at Albus, who answered for him.

"I must ask the two of you not to share this information with anyone else, this includes not discussing it openly in the common room," receiving nods, he continued. "That was a horcrux which is an extremely dark object created to house a piece of soul Lord Voldemort created these objects in order to prevent his death."

"So you are destroying parts of You-Know-Who's soul?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Albus said. "Now, please head back to your common room, all three of you. Harry, I will be in touch soon."

Hermione was shaking in her eagerness to get back to Hogwarts.

"This is interesting," said Hermione. "I'll have to look up horcruxes in the library!"

"Hermione! You heard Dumbledore! Do not say that word in public! Plus, you won't find anything," Harry said. "Albus removed all the super dark books from the library."

"What?" Hermione cried. "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not," Harry said. "Sorry Hermione."

"Can we help you find the rest of them?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Harry said. "I will ask Albus the next time I see him. It is not up to me."

A school owl flapped into the room, bopping Ron on the head with a wing as he dropped a letter in Harry's lap before exiting out of the portrait hole. Unfolding the parchment, Harry read it then handed it to Hermione as Ron read over her shoulder.

Harry,

Please come to my office. Bring Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger.

Albus

They bolted out of the tower. Hermione opened her mouth to question further on the subject but shut it at Harry's glare.

Once safely in the Headmaster's office, Albus agreed to let Ron and Hermione help with the brainstorming in the search for the horcruxes. He refused to allow Hermione access to further reading.

"So now that the locket is destroyed, what's next?" Hermione asked.

"I'm afraid I do not know," said Albus. "I believe he made horcruxes with artifacts from both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, so we must figure out the identities of those objects."

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. "What about Hufflepuff's cup?" she asked.

Albus smiled. "That could be one of them," he said slowly. "But first we must find it. I remember from a memory... I believe it is in Gringotts somewhere."

"We'll have to go there then," said Harry.

"Well, for now, let me get more info on the matter, then I'll meet with you three tomorrow," Albus said, standing up to open the door for them.

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