Disclaimer: JK Rowling and a few other people own everything, I don't.

Of Loyalty and Traitors

Chapter 7

In Times of Trouble

Arriving at Diagon Alley, Draco was amused to see that it was even more deserted than it had been during his previous visit. Indeed, many of the shops that had in past years thrived in the once popular area now were boarded at the windows. The few people that Draco did see walked fast and wore hoods that covered most of their faces. They avoided eye contact.

Flourish and Blotts, still open in despite of the circumstances, was the first shop that he bothered to enter. He was not surprised to find no other customers inside and the shopkeeper eyed him warily. Draco didn't attempt to make light discussion.

He walked around the shop a bit, pausing to look closer at books that interested him. He had been quite an avid reader when he was younger and now he would no longer be attending Hogwarts he still wanted to be competent in the various subjects. He hadn't heard if the school would be closed for certain, but even if it wasn't, he knew he was to closely connected with Dumbledore's murder to be welcomed back with open arms.

Selecting some books on advanced charmwork, potions and transfiguration, he paid the nervous man behind the counter and strode onwards to his next destination. This took him into the street of Knockturn Alley, which was no more crowded than his last location. He did, however, note that less of the shops in this area had been closed.

Borgin and Burkes had been a favoured shop of the Malfoys' since before Draco was born. Lucius Malfoy had made many good deals there in the past, in both the buying and selling of dark artifacts.

Draco walked in.

The owner, Mr. Borgin, was arranging some items near the back of the shops. He was a silent, brooding type and didn't acknowledge the boy with anything more than a dark look. Draco wasn't particularly bothered, he had received a fair few dark looks in his life. He didn't take them personally.

Looking around the selves, there didn't seem to be much new stock since his last visit. Only one artifact was given any attention. Draco picked the small circular object off the shelf to examine in more closely. It appeared to be positively ancient, with strange markings and pictures surrounding a tiny hourglass.

"Is this an old version of a time-turner?" He asked, curious. It looked rather similar to one.

Mr. Borgin snorted at him.

"I can assure you that it won't have the same effects of a time-turner. The previous owner had inherited it from some dead relative and after experimenting with it once was too afraid to do so again. Apparently it connects you to the life of someone you think strongly about, takes you back in time, but to where the person was at that point in time. Rather complicated to be meddling with such things. Still don't fully understand it and I aren't about to be testing it."

With the last few words, he looked at Draco nervously. The boy had threatened him into doing similar things in the past, as had his father.

Draco's curiosity was getting the better of him. He had never had a time-turner and despite what the man said, it did seem incredibly similar to one.

"I'll give you fifty galleons. Not a bad deal, considering how little you know about it." Draco smirked, pulling out his moneybag.

Borgin contemplated it for a couple of seconds, then accepted rather reluctantly. Business hadn't been to good, of late.

As Draco left the shop, he admired the strange item. An eagle was carved on either side of the hourglass, the one of the left looking significantly more threatening than the one on the right. Flipping it over, he could see writing on the back, though most was to faint to read. It certainly wasn't english - maybe latin, Draco reasoned.

Looking up at the night sky, he realised how much time had passed since leaving home. He wondered how many lives the Death Eaters had brought an end to in those hours.

Thinking again, Draco turned back to Borgin and Burkes. The fireplace there was closer than any in Diagon Alley and it seemed time to depart.

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At Grimmauld Place, Harry, Ron and Hermione had been pulled away from their research by the commotion in the hallway. As the noise reached Harry's ears, he felt a knot form in his stomach and he bolted out of the library. Ron and Hermione were following close behind.

"What's going on?" He shouted, pulling at the sleeve of Arthur Weasley, who gave him an apologetic glance, but brushed him of as he ran towards the door.

It was Ginny who came up to them with answers.

"Apparently the wards around several wizarding houses were breached a few minutes ago. The Order were keeping a watch on the wards and are heading off now to see what help they can provide."

"Can I -" Harry was cut of by Mrs. Weasley.

"NO Harry, please, you have to leave things to us at this stage. You three go back to whatever you were doing, and try not to worry. Ginny, dear, think about heading off to bed at some stage."

With that, Mrs.Weasley was also off through the door, shutting it hard behind her.

The four of them stood alone in the hallway.

Ginny looked at the other three and sighed.

"I'm going to go write letters to my friends. See how their holidays are going." She headed off upstairs, leaving the trio with slightly guilty expressions forming on their faces.

"Well, I think we should head back to the library. The others will be home before too long, I assume." Hermione said grimly.

Trudging back to the library, something that Harry hadn't thought of before suddenly entered his mind.

"Hang on, Ron. You know how you were saying about Regulus perhaps using the dark arts stuff here to destroy the horcrux...do you think he would have brought the locket back here to work on?"

"Yes, that would make sense." Ron answered, sounding more enthusiastic now there appeared to be an alternative to looking through musty old books.

They both looked to Hermione, waiting to see if she could find fault in this idea.

However, she nodded slowly.

"In fact..." She began, her eyes widening, "Go to the library, I'll meet you there in a moment..."

With that, she tore off down the corridor in the opposite direction. Harry turned to the other boy, raising his eyebrows. Ron grinned in response and with that they both darted after her. The library could wait for now.

They followed Hermione until the three of them finally arrived, puffing and panting, in what appeared to be a storage room. It was packed with as many boxes and sacks as it's dimensions enabled it to hold. Hermione pushed her way through it, checking numbers on the sacks. This went on for quite a while, until she called out from the very back of the room, struggling to hold up a sack to show the two boys.

"This one, it should be. I'm reasonably sure that this was the date we cleaned out those cabinets."

Somewhat mystified, Harry and Ron struggled through the boxes to reach her and between them carried the sack out of the room.

Once they reached the clearing of the passageway, Hermione untied the sack and rummaged through the contents of it, yanking things out in the process.

"Found it." She exclaimed triumphantly as she yanked out a metal locket.

"Merlin, Hermione...you're brilliant" Ron said in a hushed voice.

Harry took the large locket from him friend and a feeling of dread washed over him as he looked at it.

There was no 'S' on the front. The colour wasn't quite right. Or the size and shape, for that matter.

The disappointment was almost enough to bring tears to Harry's eyes. For the second time, he had thought the locket was found. For the second time, it wasn't the one he needed. Harry was hit by the bitter reality of the amount of lockets in the world...in this house, even, there would surely be a few more. Lockets themselves weren't uncommon. Yet the one he was searching for was. Only that one would suffice.

Ron and Hermione could tell by the look on Harry's face that something was wrong.

"Oh, Harry...it's not the same one, is it?" Hermione whispered sadly, patting him on the shoulder. "I shouldn't have got your hopes up until I knew...it's just that I was so sure...remembered this locket, how I couldn't open it when we were clearing out those cabinets..."

"It's not your fault at all, Hermione, don't worry." Harry said, forcing himself to smile.

His friends both returned equally forced smiles.

"We will find it eventually, Harry. We will find them all. It will just take time, I guess." Ron said, shrugging.

"Back to the library?" Harry suggested and the others nodded in agreement.

Before they reached the library again, however, more noise sounded from the entrance of the house. The Order members had returned.

Harry, Hermione and Ron met up with them in the Drawing Room and knew straight away that things hadn't gone well for them either.

"What happened?" Harry asked Mr. Weasley, dreading the answer he might receive.

"I suppose it could have gone worse...the warning that Minerva passed onto us gave us the advantage of being prepared. We managed to get any children out of the way, but a few of those whose homes were attacked, well, you wouldn't have known them, try not to think about it."

Harry could imagine what may have happened to them and followed Ron's father's advice, focusing on another aspect.

"How did Professor McGonagall know all this would happen?" Harry asked, not really sure if he would get a reply.

"Hagrid told her, apparently." Mr. Weasley told him,"Don't know how he found out, but it was sure good he did now, wasn't it?"

"Hagrid?" Ron asked, bewildered, as his father walked away.

Hermione looked worried.

"I hope he isn't doing anything dangerous." She said, biting her lip.

"Well, I hardly think they'd be using him as a spy, Voldemort would never buy it, knowing how close he was to Dumbledore. He probably just, I don't know, overheard something." Harry told her calmly.

"Maybe." Hermione replied, but she looked as unconvinced of this as Harry himself felt.

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A/N- Here you are, chapter 7 is up and chapter 8 is on the way.

Once again, thank-you for the reveiws, I love reading what you guys have to say.