A/N: I'm so sorry these chapters are taking so long, rest assured that this story is largely outlined and I have no intention to abandon it; I have 49 other completed stories on this site and I'm not breaking that streak. I'm having some problems with repetitive stress injuries, which make it generally difficult to use my hands, but especially for this story, since it has a fairly large following as compared to some of my other stories (dictated chapters don't turn out as well). But I've had a few really encouraging comments on this series over the past week or so, and it's inspired me to be a bit more regular with this one. So, thank you!

Chapter 4 - Allies

Harry was surprised by how easy it was to convince Slughorn to join the Hogwarts faculty for the year. He resisted at first, of course, but he definitely seemed interested in Harry, and he talked to him about his parents a little. There was always an odd mix of emotions that arose when people talked to Harry about his parents, since others had had the chance to know his parents better than Harry ever had or ever would, but at the same time, Harry sometimes felt like he was hanging on their every word. Of course, it was more enjoyable to hear about them from someone like Sirius or Remus, who had been friends with James and Lily. Slughorn had more admired them than truly loved or cared about them, as far as Harry could tell.

Even though Harry and Dumbledore were successful, the whole experience left Harry feeling drained and exhausted. He hoped Remus would know to leave him alone for a little while when he returned to the house.

What was waiting for him was even better than time alone. Both Ron and Hermione were there.

Hermione ran up to hug him as soon as he and Dumbledore stepped out of the flu. Ron just smiled and gave him a nod. Harry could feel himself smiling — either Remus had known exactly what he needed, or he had just gotten lucky about the timing of their visit.

"What are you guys doing here?" Harry asked.

"We're here for the Order meeting," Hermione said.

That made more sense to Harry than the idea that they had just been there for him, but he didn't feel any less happy to see them. If anything, he was happier.

Dumbledore nodded to Harry. "If you'll excuse me," he said, "I need to speak briefly with Remus before the meeting."

Harry couldn't help the little jump in his heart rate at these words, as he feared he might be in trouble, but he calmed himself with the thought that he had done exactly what Remus told him to do. He had insisted on honesty. Most likely, Dumbledore would just want to talk to Remus about something related to the Order meeting.

Harry turned back to his friends. Hermione raised her eyebrows, appearing almost amused. "What were you doing with Dumbledore?"

"Oh. We…" Harry frowned. He could hear shuffling coming from the kitchen and other surrounding rooms, and he suddenly felt very exposed: anyone could walk in on this conversation. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to keep the information he learned secret, but he did want the freedom to talk to his friends without feeling like others might listen in. "Not here."

Hermione nodded, and the three of them walked toward Harry's bedroom, led by Harry. He closed the door behind them, and Hermione cast a muffling spell over the room.

"That should help," she said. "What did you want to tell us about Dumbledore?"

So Harry told them the whole story. He told them about the summer he'd been having – although that was more for Hermione's benefit, since had seen Ron frequently over the past few months. He told them about Dumbledore asking for his help, and Remus allowing it, and about Slughorn, although Harry skipped the part where Remus gave him the power of refusal if Dumbledore wouldn't be honest about everything. The bottom line was that he had gotten the information he needed; it didn't matter how.

Finally, he went into more detail about the Horcroxes, even though he didn't know himself exactly what they were or what they meant for him.

"But…" Ron swallowed hard. "If Voldemort really made that many… pieces of his own soul, how are we supposed to fight all of them?"

"I think the pieces are attached to objects. If we destroy the objects—"

"it can't be that simple," Hermione said, shaking her head. "If it were, Voldemort would've chosen a more foolproof method."

That was a fair point. "Maybe there's a special way you're supposed to destroy them."

"How do you even make one of those Horcrux things?" Ron asked, a bit of fear in his voice.

"I don't know. But I don't think that's the point," Harry said.

"How sure are we that he made them?" Hermione shifted her weight.

"I think Dumbledore was pretty sure. He wanted Slughorn to confirm, but it sounded like he just needed his memory of the number. He suspects there may have been seven."

"Do we have any idea where they might be?" Hermione asked.

"You know," Ron said, "if I were trying to be immortal, I would make it impossible for anyone to find the pieces of my soul. I would link one piece to, like, a random pebble on the ground, and maybe another piece to a cloud, and —"

"Ronald, that doesn't even make any sense," Hermione said.

"You don't know that. We don't even know how these things are made."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Harry, does Dumbledore have any idea where the other pieces are?"

Dumbledore hadn't said so specifically. But… "I think he might. At least for some of them. He seemed pretty sure that this was how Voldemort was getting his power." How else could he have risen from the dead?

Hermione nodded, and a smile spread across her face. "But… this is good. This is really good."

Harry and Ron exchange the glance. "How is this good?" Harry asked.

"The whole Order is meeting tonight. If there really are seven Horcruxes, Voldemort's spread himself thin. We can divide and conquer. I'm assuming destroying them would weaken Voldemort, right?"

"Ah...I guess."

"If Dumbledore or you or anyone else were running around trying to find Horcruxes on your own, Voldemort will have time to guard them and figure out your plan. But with everyone going at once —"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not sure it's that simple."

"I'm sure it won't be easy, but—"

"I don't know if Dumbledore wants to share this information with the whole Order."

Hermione grimaced. "He trusts everyone there, right?"

"No, he does, but I think Harry has a point," Ron said. "I mean, Snape's out there."

Harry's insides squirmed. He hadn't really thought about the fact that he would be seeing Snape tonight. He trusted Dumbledore, and he knew that Dumbledore trusted Snape, but that didn't make it easier to be around him.

"I'm just saying, if there really are seven pieces, it's going to be more risky for one person to try to run around collecting all of them then it would be for a team of us to go around destroying them all at the same time. And it would be quicker if we work together, too. If we leave him to continue gaining power, who knows what he'll do?"

"But what if someone in the Order can't be trusted?"

"Then we have problems anyway. But if we're all on the same page, we might make some progress before they can stop us."

Harry had to admit, she had a point. He just wasn't sure he had the kind of courage it took to go over Dumbledore's head and announce their plans at the meeting. For all he knew, maybe Dumbledore had a really good reason for keeping the information quiet that Harry hadn't thought of. He could always ask, but getting information out of Dumbledore could be like pulling teeth.

Of course, he could also always get support from Remus. And if that wasn't enough, he might be able to pull Sirius into it. Remus would be rational and levelheaded about the whole thing, but if that wasn't enough to convince Dumbledore, Sirius could always go on some passionate rant.

And if the Order of the Phoenix didn't want to be the extraction team for the Horcruxes, he could always ask Dumbledore's Army to get involved…