30 CHAPTERS ALREADY! MORE THAN 69 000 VIEWS! LOTS OF NICE COMMENTS THAT WARM MY HEART! I honestly can't thank you enough for reading this fic and for commenting, so THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN :D

Small warning: the first part of the chapter is written from a new POV and is divided into small paragraphs that alternate between the past (normal) and the present (italic). I thought it was clear enough but I don't want you to wonder what on Earth is going on! Enjoy :)

The night had been dark, darker than he had thought it could ever be. As soon as he had arrived, he had felt it: the strange, oppressive atmosphere, so evil that it was enough to make someone as powerful as him shiver. The night had been dark, and even the bright light coming from his wand had not been enough to pierce through the dark veil that had surrounded him. The place was vile, unnatural, and yet it had not frightened him: it was exactly what he had been looking for. The lands near the house had seemed abandoned, and he had crossed them easily.

Severus. He needed Severus.

Oh, there had been a few traps here and there, but nothing too hard for him. The absence of real difficulty had made him more confident than he should have been, and he had let his mind wander. Would it be there? The chances were high, he knew, and he couldn't help but remember the beginning of this quest so many years ago, when he was still young and in love.

It was spreading faster, now, he needed to do something about it.

Ah, love. So beautiful, and yet so terrible. It had been love that had led him to that particular quest, and love that had almost caused his ruin. Yet, falling in love with a Dark Wizard hadn't been his worst mistake. Her death had.

He had just wanted to see her again.

In a matter of a heartbeat, he had lost everything: his sister, his brother, and his lover. He could still remember the terrible pain he had felt when he had realized that, no matter who had fired the deadly spell, he was the one responsible for that tragedy. After all, he was the one who had brought Gellert in his life, and he was the one who had neglected his family, thus leading to the fight.

A single tear fell from his eyes, and he closed them briefly. Almost a century had passed, and yet the pain had not lessened.

After that, he had broken off all ties with Gellert and stopped thinking of the Deathly Hallows, until he had been forced to cross wands with his lover once again and had been left in possession of one of them. However, it was only when James Potter had died that his resolve had truly broken: suddenly, he had found himself in possession of two out of three Hallows, and the old dream of becoming the Master of Death had returned, even more strongly than before.

Slowly, painfully, he got up from the floor and leaned on the nearest wall. He had no time to lose.

The following years had been spent studying the history of the Potter family, and he had finally come to the conclusion that the rumours about the Peverell brothers had been true. After that, it had taken a few more years to find out who the last descendent of the second brother was, and he had refocused his attention on the Gaunt family. Then, Harry Potter had entered Hogwarts, and the boy's presence had been exactly what he needed to have the proof that Voldemort was still alive, and what he had done to his soul.

Breathing deeply, he reached into the last remnant of his strength and called for Fawkes.

His two quests had merged into one and, when the time had come for him to go to the house of Marvalo Gaunt, he had been pretty confident that he would find the Stone there, and his heart had leaped up for joy when the contents of the small box he had discovered buried under the floor had proved him right.

Immediately, the great Phoenix appeared, and he grabbed his leg and let the bird take him back to his office.

He knew that trying the ring was a mistake, but the temptation had been too great. There had been a whisper, a voice in his head that had told him that it was the only way he would be able to see her, to talk to her, to tell her that her death was an accident and to ask for her forgiveness. So, he had put the ring on his finger, and the curse had struck.

Only when he was there did he release the ring from his grasp and let if fell on the ground.

- Go to Severus, he told the Phoenix. And bring him here.

Severus sighed deeply before taking a sip from his glass of wine. Then, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to savour his first quiet evening since the beginning of the summer. It had been a taxing week, but he was finally free from both of his masters so he had decided to celebrate this opportunity by opening a bottle from his cellar and turning the music on. Tonight, he would listen to his favourite music of the moment (the Cello Suite of Bach, interpreted by Rostropovich) and maybe (oh, joy!) even dare to read a few chapters from that novel he had begun three months ago. Then, when he would feel tired enough, he would go to bed and enjoy an uninterrupted night. That had been his plan for the evening, at least until a bright flash of light illuminated the room and revealed a huge golden bird perched on top of his library.

- Fawkes? he said, startled by the presence of the phoenix. He was familiar with the bird, having seen him regularly in the Headmaster's office, but it was the first time that he had come to him, which could only mean one thing.

- How bad is it? he asked the perceptive creature, and the Phoenix let out a harrowing cry that turned his blood to ice. Alarmed, Severus got up from his armchair and summoned his emergency briefcase before grabbing the leg the bird was offering. Then, in another blinding flash of light, they were gone.

They reappeared in front of Dumbledore's desk, and Severus let out a soft exclamation when he discovered the man passed out on the floor of his office, his face a ghastly shade of white. Afraid that he had arrived too late, he kneeled next to him and produced a quick series of diagnosis spells that informed him that, while the Headmaster's vitals were declining at an alarming speed, he technically still had a few days before dying. Which really was a good thing, because it meant that Severus might be able to save him if he could find the source of his sudden illness. Slightly relieved, he was about to levitate the Headmaster onto the nearest couch when his eyes caught sight of his right hand.

"Merlin, old man, what have you done now?" he sighed before taking a closer look at the injured appendage. A basic exam was enough to tell him what he needed to know, and he muttered a few more spells – this time, specifically used against Dark Curses – before swearing quietly when he saw the results. Then, after summoning a vial containing a thick golden potion and pouring its contents into the old man's throat, he began chanting the first of the five powerful incantations he would need in order to contain the unknown curse that was slowly spreading in the Headmaster's body. Gradually, Dumbledore's ragged breath eased and, less than five minutes later, he finally opened his eyes.

"Severus," he said, his voice a little raspy, "did you manage to…"

"Stop the curse from spreading?" he asked. Dumbledore nodded tediously. "Of course, I did. That's why you called me, after all. Now, tell me. How on Earth did that happen?"

Slowly, the man raised his valid hand and pointed in the direction of a small object Severus had failed to notice when he had arrived. He summoned it and examined it carefully for several minutes, his fury increasing as he studied it. It was a gold ring inset with a black stone that could have been a nice piece of jewellery if not for the large crack at its centre, and the faint trace of Dark Magic that could still be detected around it. Severus put it back on the floor and turned back to the Headmaster.

"You knew about the curse, didn't you?" he asked curtly, already suspecting the answer. The man nodded, almost looking ashamed. "And yet you still put the ring on your finger?"

"I was weak…" Dumbledore began, but Severus did not let him finish.

"WEAK?" he yelled, making half of the portraits jump into their frames. "That's your excuse for putting a heavily cursed ring on your finger? Had you not been strong enough to call for me, you would have been dead by the end of the week!"

"And I'm grateful for your help, Severus, but this doesn't give you the right to judge my actions, regardless of how foolish they were," Dumbledore answered dryly.

"Yes well, I've just saved you from a very painful death, albeit momentarily. Can't you at least tell me what the purpose of that little adventure was?"

"I suppose you've earned the right to know what I've been doing for the past few months," the man admitted begrudgingly. "I trust you remember the incident at the end of Harry's second year, involving Miss Weasley?"

"Yes."

"You will also recall that, a few hours after both students were sent to the infirmary, you found me studying what looked like an old diary?"

"… yes," Severus answered cautiously, suddenly having an inkling of what the Headmaster was about to reveal.

"Well, after a few months of research, I discovered that this diary was the reason for Voldemort's survival. You see, the only thing Voldemort fears above all is Death and, to prevent his own demise, he decided to go through an old, terrible ritual to create Dark objects called…"

"… Horcruxes," Severus announced flatly, and Dumbledore's eyes widened in shock. Severus sighed again, giving up on the idea of a quiet evening, and got up. "Well, it's a bit earlier than we planned, but I suppose it's time to finally let you into the loop. Do you mind?" he asked, pointing in direction of the small pot of floopowder that stood on the mantelpiece. "Thank you," he said before throwing a handful of it in the fireplace. Then, he called for Grimmauld Place and waited for Regulus to appear. "Come through the floo quickly and bring your idiotic brother," he told his friend, "We have a change of plans." Then, he stepped out and waited for the two men to arrive, glancing long enough into the Headmaster's direction to see that his look of shock had morphed into one of semi-betrayal. Severus turned his head back to the fireplace and smirked.

Ten points to Slytherin.

Five minutes later, however, Dumbledore seemed to have overcome his deception and was smiling serenely at the three men gathered in front of him.

"So," Black asked once they were all seated, "what exactly happened that made you change your mind about keeping our alliance a secret, Snape?"

"The Headmaster had a risky encounter with a Horcrux," Severus answered dryly, "which led him to being cursed so badly that he now has less than a year to live."

Both Black brothers looked equally shaken by the news, but Dumbledore appeared unfazed.

"Honestly, Severus, the situation is not as bad as you make it sound."

Severus crooked an eyebrow, not amused in the slightest.

"What I mean," the old man continued, "is that we already had the same objective – getting rid of Voldemort for good – and now it seems that we also have the same approach to achieving this: to find and destroy his Horcruxes!"

"From what you just said, Headmaster, I assume you believe that there is more than one?"

"I do, Severus, but I suppose that this is a conclusion you also drew on your own?"

"Indeed. However, we have no idea how many of them the Dark Lord created, and those we encountered were already more than the number we suspected initially."

"Those?" Dumbledore asked, surprised. "Are you saying that you found more than one?"

"Found and destroyed, Headmaster."

"How many?" the man asked urgently, "how many did you destroy?"

"Two," Regulus answered. "Three, if you count…"

"Harry" Black finished.

"Harry?" Dumbledore repeated, "are you sure of what you're saying? The boy was a Horcrux as well?"

"Very sure," Severus confirmed. "I executed the ritual myself."

"I see…" the man said, before becoming quiet for a few minutes, apparently thinking. "So, that makes five Horcruxes that are already destroyed."

"We suspect another one," Severus said, "but we won't be able to acquire it before the end of the year at the earliest."

"And I suspected six as well," Dumbledore said, "which means that either Harry was unintentional, or my suspicions were wrong. What other Horcruxes did you destroy, and which one do you suspect?"

"Slytherin's locket and Ravenclaw's diadem are gone, we assumed Hufflepuff's cup could be one."

"Those were also items on my list. I suspected the snake."

"The snake?" Regulus asked. "Why?"

"Several reasons, all based on Severus' observations. First, Voldemort is extremely protective of it, to the point where he does not hesitate to kill his own men if they threaten its life. Then, it has proven its intelligence and cunning more than once, and we know that Voldemort gives it missions that could have been done by his men. Finally, there is an aura of Dark Magic surrounding it, aura that several of his Death Eaters have apparently felt and which is something usually found during a very powerful possession."

Severus nodded. That made sense.

"Your arguments are good, Dumbledore, but there is something I don't get," Black said. "Why did none of us ever felt the same around Harry?"

"The fragment of soul that the Dark Lord left in his body wasn't really a Horcrux," Severus explained. "It could have become one if the Dark Lord had performed the correct ritual but that never happened, so the fragment did not share the same properties as the other and remained mainly dormant, even after having been activated by the Dark Lord's return. As such, it could only be found during a deep examination like the one I did."

"Exactly," Dumbledore said. "Now, killing the snake is a problem that will have to be solved quickly, but not today. In the meantime, we have other matters to take care of. First, do you know where the cup is?"

"Yes," Black answered. "It was in Bellatrix's possession and is now secured in Narcissa's vault. However, my cousin is currently detained at Nott Manor and won't be able to retrieve it as long as she stays there. We plan to help her escape but we don't want to act too soon, we fear that it would look suspicious in Voldemort's eyes, and we don't want any repercussions on her boy."

"A wise decision, Lord Black. We'll see to it when you think the time has come, then. In the meantime, there is also the matter of the exact number of Horcruxes. I assume you remember I wanted Harry to meet one of my old friends?" The three men nodded. "Well, that particular friend was very close to Voldemort when he was a young man and, a few years ago, he drunkenly admitted that the both of them had had several conversations about Dark Magic. I had completely forgotten this until recently but alas, when I tried to ask him for more details, he completely shut down. I reached out to him two months ago and he agreed to meet me in a few days to discuss a potential job I had for him. Of course, the job isn't available anymore, but I have failed to inform him of that recent development."

"I see," Black said. "And why do you think Harry's presence would help?"

"Well," Dumbledore answered, his eyes twinkling, "Horace has always liked famous people."

"What happened after that, Harry?" Hermione asked her best friend. She was lying on her bed, observing him as he explored the shelves in her bedroom. Today was their last day in England before a two-weeks' vacation in the South of France with Sirius, Rita, Regulus and her parents, and Harry had come to spend the night with her before their departure the following morning.

"Well, it became a bit awkward when Slughorn realized that Dumbledore had tricked him into coming, and what he really wanted."

"Ah…"

"Yes. Of course, he tried to leave immediately, but then he saw me and just stopped, before saying that I had my mother's eyes and that she had been one of his best students…"

Hermione winced in sympathy. She knew Harry hated hearing that.

"… but – and I still can't believe it – Dumbledore's plan actually worked! After that, Slughorn decided to stay for a while and we talked a bit about his days as a teacher, and about me. In the end, all it took in exchange for the memory was a promise I would come to one of his parties once Voldemort was defeated, and a box of crystallised pineapple."

Hermione stared at her friends with wide eyes.

"You're joking," she said.

"I'm not," Harry chuckled. "Apparently, he likes to collect people, and Dumbledore thought he would not resist knowing that he could have me as well."

"Merlin… if only beating Voldemort was that easy. Did you learn something else?"

Harry's smile faded quickly, and Hermione suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Actually, yes," he answered, his voice a bit tight. "I finally decided to tell Sirius about my concern for Malfoy, and he told me about the mission. And Dumbledore probably dying in less than a year. Oh, and, the Prophecy," he concluded bitterly.

Hermione cleared her throat, embarrassed. Being in a relationship with Regulus meant that she now had access to more information than her two friends, but Sirius had asked her not to share what she had learned with them. Now is not the time, he had told her, let them enjoy the rest of the year before we tell what we know.

"Look, Harry, I'm sorry I could not tell you, but..."

Harry raised his hand in the air, stopping her apology.

"It's alright, Hermione, I get it. I can't blame Sirius for wanting to keep everything a secret a bit longer, honestly, especially the Prophecy. It's just that... There are already so many terrible things going on, and now that? I mean, I knew that something was wrong with Malfoy, but this really sucks for him. And the Prophecy? Even if I suspected its content, hearing it from Sirius' voice is..."

"I know what you mean," Hermione said, getting up and wrapping her arms around him.

"How am I even supposed to kill a monster with a power I don't know of?" he asked her, his voice quivering, and Hermione hugged him tighter.

"Don't worry, Harry", she replied. "You'll find a way. You always do."

"Again," Dolohov said, and Draco quickly got back into a fighting position, wiping the sweat dripping from his forehead. They had been practicing for hours, and he was getting tired of being slammed into various pieces of furniture.

"PROTEGO HORRIBILIS," he screamed but Dolohov was quicker, and his blasting curse hit him right in the chest.

"Disappointing," the man said as he watched Draco get up from the floor. "To think that the success of our operation depends on you... I rarely question our Lord's plans, but I honestly don't know how you will be able to kill Dumbledore if you can't even protect yourself against a simple blasting curse."

Draco's jaw clenched in silent fury but he stayed silent. He knew all too well what contradicting the man meant for him.

"Now," his companion said, "shall we try once again? This time, I hope you won't be stupid enough to say your spell out loud, boy."

Resigned, Draco was about to resume fighting when the door burst opened and Fenrir Greyback entered. The werewolf ignored Dolohov and turned towards Draco who shivered slightly, wondering what was going to happen to him now.

"The Dark Lord is asking for you, boy," he said.

Draco nodded and followed him, doing his best to clear his head of any worries he might have at the moment. He had always been good at Occlumency – his Father had seen that he controlled his family gift well before he went to Hogwarts – but being in the presence of the Dark Lord often seem to make his mental walls crack if he looked at him too long in the eyes.

After a few minutes of walk, they finally arrived in the throne room and Greyback opened the door, leaving Draco on the doorstep. The Dark Lord watched him closely as he crossed the room, and Draco stopped a few meters from him. Then, slowly, he crouched down and lowered his head, waiting.

"Draco," the Dark Lord said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion, "I'm so happy to see you, my young friend. Tell me, have you made any progress regarding the mission I've given you?"

Draco inhaled sharply before raising his head.

"Yes, my Lord. I have a plan."

FIY:

- The title can be understood in two different ways: the fact that Dumbledore accidentally killed his sister, or the fact that he put the /

- I plan to create a fund-raising for Severus, so that he can take a few weeks away from England at the end of the war. I thought Italy might be a good idea?

- What did you thought of the scene btw Dumbledore team Harry? :D

- About Harry being a Horcrux: Dumbledore may have suspected that there was a connection between Voldemort and Harry but, as the scene with Nagini attacking Mr. Weasley never happened, he never thought that he could be a Horcrux.

- I know that it does not explain Ginny, but I couldn't think of something better! Let's imagine that she wasn't really possessed all the time (maybe the Horcrux that possessed her was dormant most of the time?) and that only Snape could have felt the dark aura surrounding her, but he never got close enough to feel it. Furthermore, it happened gradually in time so it could only have been detected near the end of the year!