Well, this update came a little quicker than the last one. ;-) This chapter is dedicated to Lies, I owe her a thankyou for the inspiration concerning the horcrux.

As always, I don't own any of the characters, I just play with them. ;-)

Now have fun reading, and I'd appreciate any reviews.

Indeed they had arrived at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche. And Minerva had to agree… It bore some resemblance to a hollow tooth.

"Well, shall we take a look inside then?" Minerva looked at the trio before she looked back at the church. Of course it was a small victory that they had figured out where to go and what Albus' little riddle meant… But they still didn't know what they were looking for. That could turn out to be a problem, knowing Albus and his rather shrewd sense of humour. Minerva suspected that he would have chosen something that was rather out of place at the church.

But first of all they had to find a way to search the church without raising any suspicions.

Hermione and Ron had taken the lead again while Harry remained behind them, close to Minerva.

"Do you have any idea what Professor Dumbledore could have chosen as a horcrux? I mean… the church looks rather… large," Harry said.

"No, not really. But I'm sure we'll find it." Minerva tried to smile confidently at the young man next to her, though she wasn't sure if she succeeded. Suddenly she frowned. "What's wrong, Hermione?" she called out to the girl ahead.

"Well, I don't know but it seems that you can't enter the church," Hermione said.

"What? That can't be!" Harry looked at Hermione disbelievingly. They had already come so close to getting Dumbledore back. He could see how Minerva's face fell. But there just had to be a solution to this.

"Excuse me, sir…" Hermione was determined not to give up so easily. She approached the nearest pedestrian. "Sir, is this the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche?" she asked.

"Yes, it is." The man smiled at her friendly.

"Uhm… but one can't enter it," Hermione pointed out, looking slightly disappointed.

"No, that's not possible. Services are held in that church over there." Pointing to the right side of the church, the man nodded and walked on.

"Oh," Hermione said softly.

"What is it, Hermione? What did he say?" Harry asked. He stood still a few metres away from his friend.

"He said that services are held in that church," Hermione pointed to the other church the stranger had shown her. "It seems to be some kind of replacement for the old one. Seems sensible too. I mean… I guess that it might be dangerous to enter the old church. Doesn't look very stable to me."

"True," Ron agreed with her. "So do we try the other one? Might already have been there when Professor Dumbledore left the horcrux here."

"Yes, I guess you're right, Ron." Minerva had pulled herself together. Anyway, Ron might be right. It didn't seem sensible to allow people to enter such a heavily destroyed building.

The other church was a rather modern building with a lot of blue glass. It wasn't exactly to Minerva's taste but as long as she found the horcrux in there, she didn't mind where it was hidden.

Together they entered the church. It wasn't that large but large enough for the search to last some time. Minerva checked her watch. It was already getting late, and she didn't know how much longer they had. Were churches closed over night in Germany?

"Do you have any idea what we're looking for?" Hermione asked, looking slightly desperate when she saw the vast interior.

"Well, no… But I guess I'll recognize the horcrux when I see it. It must have been something that isn't too much out of place in a church but has a double meaning so I can identify it. Otherwise Albus' plan wouldn't make any sense." Minerva took another look around. Knowing Albus he would have hidden the horcrux somewhere were it was obvious but not out of place.

"Perhaps we should try the altar. It seems the most logical choice to me." Minerva went ahead towards the altar. There were a lot of Christian relics and candles on display, but nothing that especially caught Minerva's eye.

The trio had followed her and was searching the sides of the altar. All of them looked desperate to find whatever Albus had chosen to be his horcrux.

"Professor?" Hermione called out. She looked at a bowl but it seemed that it wasn't the bowl itself that had caught her attention but rather something inside it.

Minerva went over to the young woman, looking curious.

"What have you found, Hermione?"

"Well, I'm not sure but… There's something in that bowl. A medallion." Hermione pointed at the bowl and then stepped aside to give Minerva better access. The older witch frowned but then a smile spread over her face.

"Yes, that could be." Carefully Minerva took the small medallion out of the bowl. It was in the shape of a rose but Minerva could see that something else was engraved in the delicate structure. It was a miniscule crest. Taking a quick look around if anybody was watching them, Minerva took out her wand. With a small flick she enlarged the crest… and her suspicions were confirmed.

"There's the McGonagall family crest on that medallion. I think we've found it, Hermione." Smiling Minerva turned the medallion back to its original state and put it in her pocket.

"That's it? This small medallion can carry someone's soul?" Ron asked, a rather disbelieving look on his face.

"Yes, Ron, it can. And now, I suggest we leave and return to Hogwarts so that we can get Albus back as soon as possible." Minerva was still smiling, and the smile stayed on her face throughout their journey back to Hogwarts. It didn't take them long to reach the nearest apparition site and then apparate back to Scotland.

When they arrived, Moody and Lupin were still in Minerva's private chambers, apparently waiting for them.

"Have you already found him? Thank Merlin." Lupin let out a sigh of relief. The search had gone better than anyone had anticipated.

"Yes, headmaster Schulz was a great help, and thankfully Albus chose something I could easily recognize." Minerva pulled the small medallion out of her robes and held it out on her hand. Moody and Lupin came closer.

"A rose medallion? But… How can you be sure?" Lupin asked.

"Because it has the McGonagall family crest on it," answered Moody, his magical eyeball rolling madly in his socket. Minerva nodded.

"Oh," Lupin said. He took another look at the medallion, and now he could see it too… barely so, but he could see it.

"Well, then I suggest we start preparing the ceremony. I take it you want to have your husband back as soon as possible," Lupin said with a wink.