Chapter Two

There was a rather large panic taking place at the hidden headquarters called Grimmauld Place. Harry had disappeared during the night without a word or note. In the dining room Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny Weasley all sat around the table trying to figure out where he could have gone. Tonks had just left to the Ministry to see Shacklebolt and Mrs Weasley was compulsively frying eggs, bacon and sausage in the kitchen, worry and stress exaggerating the crows feet at her eyes. Mr Weasley had yet to get home from work - these days he practically lived at the office, only coming home for naps and the occasional meal.

"What about Hogwarts?" Ginny suggested. "He hid Snape's old book there. Maybe he thinks there could be something useful in there to track the git down."

"No, I don't think so," Hermione said quietly. "He went through it several dozen times last year, he would remember anything important."

Remus sighed as Mrs Weasley came in with the first tray of food and plates. "He wouldn't have gone after McNightly, would he?"

"No," answered Ron. "We talked about him, Harry knows it'll take most of us to take out McNightly. The house is too warded."

"He probably just went to meet that contact he was talking about the other day," Fred said suddenly.

"Yea, that's right, he said he'd have to see the guy soon!" George added looking as if there could be no other answer.

"He has a contact? Who?" Remus asked urgently.

The twins looked surprised. "You don't know?" they asked at once.

"He never mentioned a contact to us!" Hermione said. Ron and Ginny nodded.

"Well it was more on accident we found out," said Fred.

"Though it's his own fault for talking to himself," added George. "He said sometimes you can see a link better if it's vocalised."

"He was talking about taking care of something soon, I think I heard him say Dumbledore's name."

"He was sitting in the drawing room, he had the letter he got a few days ago. He looked intense."

"Wasn't it later that day he asked us for one of our three-hour Invisibility cloaks?"

"Three-hour Invisibility cloaks?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, they're new. The invisible charm on the only lasts around three hours. It doesn't say that on the package though-"

"Did he say what he was going to do with it?" Remus interrupted.

"No, didn't say nothing, did he Fred?"

"Nope, nothing. Wouldn't budge a bit."

Remus stood and started pacing angrily. "I can't believe he didn't tell us! I thought we were clear on-"

The door opened forcefully and Harry entered breathlessly. Everyone jumped up and converged on him, but he waved them away saying, "I know, I know, just sit and listen though."

When they finally complied he leaned his hands on the table and looked around at them. "I take it from what I just heard Fred and George told you about my contact?" Everyone started talking again and he held up a hand for silence. "I went to see him last night. He is a Death Eater, but he will be caught soon. I gave him the gag Invisibility cloak." He smirked.

"Who was it?" Remus demanded.

Harry's eyes darkened. "Pettigrew," he said.

Remus growled. "You can't trust anything that scum has to say, Harry, you know that!"

"He can't lie to me. I called in my wizards debt on him, he had no choice but to tell me what I wanted to know." He rubbed his face tiredly.

"And just what did you want to know?" Mrs Weasley demanded looking horribly pale.

Harry straitened, his expression stony. "I asked him where Snape was."

The silence echoed for several minutes. Only Hermione picked up on Harry's use of past-tense. "Where is he Harry?" she asked quietly, afraid of the answer.

He turned away from them and stated helping himself to some breakfast. "He's dead." Everyone but Hermione and Ginny was shocked as they slowly clued in to the fact that Harry had killed their former professor. After giving them another minute he sat and started eating. "He lived in a rundown muggle town. Pettigrew was staying with him on Voldemort's orders. He got me in, took the cloak and left. I talked to Snape a bit and then went through some of his things before people got there." Harry pulled a book, a glasses case and what looked like a velvet ring box out of his pocket and set them on the table. He enlarged the book to it's original size, which was quite large. "He's been keeping notes on all Death Eater activity and members. And the letters he has been sending are good. The information is right. According to this book, Dumbledore told him to do anything to stay undercover for as long as possible. That's what they were arguing about by the Forbidden Forest," he added to Hermione and Ron. They looked surprised but nodded in understanding.

"What are those, Harry?" Ginny asked, gesturing to the other objects.

Harry smiled. "Rowanda Ravenclaw's reading glasses and Salazar Slytherin's locket," he said smugly. "Snape had them. Apparently he and Sirius' brother took the locket and tried to destroy it for the light. Before Regulus was murdered. They couldn't so he just kept it. Voldemort gave him the glasses to keep safe just a little while ago. I've read most of the book," he added.

"Did he tell you what and where the last Horcruxes are?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Harry answered thru a mouthful of bacon. "The last object is Helga Hufflepuff's goblet, which is hidden in Borgin and Burkes. We have to get it as soon as possible. I'll destroy them all in one go, and then we can plan for the battle."

"We're still missing two though," Ginny said, confused.

Harry shook his head. "The snake, Nagini, and Voldemort are the last two pieces. They'll have to be taken out in the battle." He pushed his empty plate away. "I have to get some sleep," he said picking up the glasses and locket. "I'll put these away. When we're ready to go get the goblet , wake me up."

He stood and left quickly, eyes still averted from his friends. As the door closed Remus took the large book and started shifting through the hundreds of pages filled with Snape's neat scrawl. Scattered here and there between the entries of information were letters, letters to Snape's family, to Dumbledore, to Voldemort. Everything was neatly dated and tidy. There were no scratched out words, no hesitation in the sentences. In the second part, the second war, the writing had changed slightly. Snape had written out Harry's story of how Voldemort had been resurrected and his take on the potion Wormtail had used. His extensive examination of the ancient magic left Remus' head spinning, but still he continued to skim through. Finally he came to the part that he was looking for. An entry that looked more like a page from a journal or diary - the entry about Dumbledore's request.

… He said if it should come to it, I would be the one to kill him. Kill him! I told him I would not, and that if 'it' should come to anything, we would deal with it accordingly at the time. Of course then he had to remind me about my promise. Both of them, actually. The one I made to him so many years ago, to follow and obey him, and the one to Narcissa, to help Draco and complete his mission myself if need be. He pointed out the convenience of the two possibly correlating. The nerve of that man.

I cannot believe he would ask that of me. After all these years, and all that I owe him, he would make me promise this. Promise to kill him …

-+-

In the drawing room two floors up, Ginny sat alone, letting silent tears flow freely. She couldn't believe what had happened. Harry, her Harry, had killed someone. Not just someone, oh no, but Professor Snape! He had gone and killed him in his own house. Since he had told her the prophecy she hadn't been sure that her gentle Harry could take a life, even Voldemort's. And now he had. Sure he had gotten plenty of information if the look on Remus' face was anything to go by, but at what cost to him? How was this really effecting Harry? He'd come back and eaten as if nothing had happened, told them everything without hesitation, but what was really happening in his mind? Well, whatever it was, she vowed, she would help him.

-+-

Three hours had passed since the Order of the Phoenix had entered Borgin and Burkes. Harry was still searching the basement - for the fourth time. He flat out refused to believe that Snape could have lied about the goblets whereabouts. Remus had found no mention of the goblet in skimming the book, nothing about anything at all that might be hidden in Diagon Alley. Tonks and Shacklebolt stood by the door, talking quietly. They would have to leave soon; Remus was pretty sure they would have to force Harry out of the dirty little shop.

Suddenly Harry came barrelling up the rickety staircase, yelling for him. "Remus! I found it! I found it!"

Everyone turned to the boy as he burst into the room. Remus quickly went to him. "Good show, Harry! Are you sure this is it though?"

"Yeah," Harry said triumphantly. "Look!" He opened the stained wooden box and tilted it towards Remus. There was the glittering silver goblet with the Hufflepuff badger proudly posing on one side.

"I told you it was here," Harry said. "Told you. He didn't lie."