A/N: Hey,Thanks for the review. I decided to write 1 chapter after this one, since this part was longer than I expected. Sorry, I didn't realize they were disabled before, but now ANONYMOUS REVIEWS ARE ENABLED! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 4- A Much-Needed Discussion

"Now, where to begin," Dumbledore started, but Harry cut in.

"Snape! Malfoy and Snape! I told you they were up to something!"

"And you were right, Harry, to a certain degree. You see, Professor Sn-"

"Sir, you can't honestly stick up for Sn- Professor Snape when he just tried- he just tried to- to kill you!"

"As a matter of fact I can, Harry. Severus has been doing my orders to spy on Draco Malfoy all year to see what he was up to. Obviously, he was not very successful. Although Draco believed him to be a Death Eater, he would not tell him his plans because, as you undoubtably heard, he thought Severus was trying to 'take all the glory for himself'."

"But, Professor, he tried using two Unforgivable Curses on you, and one was supposed to kill you. Malfoy says he's been doing Voldemort's orders, so that's obviously what Voldemort believes. Can you be absolutely sure that he's on our side?"

"I trust Severus with my life, Harry."

"And he almost took it from you." Harry added determinedly.

"Ok, Harry, I will tell you what has been happening with Professor Snape and I this year." Harry nodded in gratitude. "As I have already said, Severus has been spying on Draco Malfoy for me. He did not know exactly what Draco's plan was; however, he did know that his mission was to bring Death Eaters into Hogwarts and to kill me. All he needed to know, and what he didn't know until very recently, was just how it was to happen."

"But he betrayed you and tried to kill you." Harry cut in.

"I am getting to that point Harry, just be patient." Dumbledore answered calmly.

"Naturally, we both knew Draco had not the heart to kill me. He would wait for the other Death Eaters and hope that one of them would. This is where Severus came in. He would have to appear to be at least attempting to help Draco, or Lord Voldemort would no longer trust him and, no doubt, would kill him. In order to save his and Draco's lives, Severus had to pretend to try to kill me and then go back and tell Lord Voldemort what had happened. I told Severus that, should we be forced to confront each other, he must do what Voldemort would have him do; I would be ready. It is possible the pair of them will be punished for failing, but probably not killed."

When Dumbledore had finished, Harry could find no loop holes through which Snape might still be evil, so he decided to move on to another subject. "Malfoy, what about him?"

"Ah, yes, Draco," Dumbledore responded, "He was brought before Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, given a mission, and accepted it. Had he declined, he would have been killed. There is nothing more to it." Dumbledore finished casually.

"Nothing more to it!" Harry said angrily. "He betrayed everyone in this school. I would've died before doing that, the stupid prat!"

"I'm sure you would have, Harry. But consider Draco's family: his mother and father are both Death Eaters, he probably looked up to them and wanted to follow in their footsteps. True, his mother didn't want him to have to take up the mission, but that was because she was worried about him, not because she thought it wrong. And his father-"

"Got himself locked up in Azkaban for following Voldemort." Harry blurted out.

"Exactly, Harry," Harry looked puzzled. "Just think, Lord Voldemort might have offered to break Lucius Malfoy out of Azkaban if Draco completed the mission. Draco wanted his father back."

Harry thought about this for a moment before saying, "That still doesn't make him right."

"No, Harry, no it doesn't" Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

After a short pause, Dumbledore moved on, "Horcruxes. We have retrieved one, would you like to open it?" Harry took the locket from Dumbledore's outstretched hand and opened it.

Inside was a letter. Harry merely stared at it. Dumbledore stared at Harry.

"Well?" Dumbledore finally asked.

"It's a letter." Harry said, still confused.

"Well, then would you mind reading it?"

Harry shook his head, then recited:

'To the Dark Lord

I know I will be dead long before you read this

but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret.

I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.

I face death in the hope that when you meet your match,

you will be mortal once more.

R. A. B.'

Harry looked up at Dumbledore who looked just as Harry felt- disappointed.

"So this is a fake?" Harry asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes, Harry, I'm afraid it is."

"Sir,"

"Yes?"

"Who is R. A. B?"

"Can you think of no one?"

Harry tried, but he could not think for the extreme disappointment building steadily inside him. He shook his head.

"I believe him to be Regulus Alphard Black." Dumbledore stated.

"You mean Sirius' brother?"

"Yes. He was a Death Eater, but was killed when he let known he no longer wanted to be one. My guess is that he replaced the Horcrux with this and was murdered shortly afterward."

Then it hit Harry: a heavy locket that nobody could open. He had seen it while cleaning out the glass cabinets ant Number 12 Grimmauld Place. When he informed Dumbledore of this, he was very impressed.

"I will say it again," Dumbledore began. "It's funny how the teenage mind works. You remember things that happened years ago, in detail, with exceptional ease."

Harry smiled at the compliment, then Dumbledore continued, "Next time you go to headquarters, I want you to test this locket you speak of and, if it is a Horcrux, destroy it."

"But Professor," Harry said, "I have absolutely know idea how to test or destroy a Horcrux."

"I will explain." Dumbledore said with a smile. "Cast Lumos on the locket, and if it flickers red, it is most likely a Horcrux. If it does flicker red, cast the spell once more, then touch it. If it is warm, it is almost definitelya Horcrux. The third and final step is to cast a spell I have recently invented on a sneakoscope. I believe you own a sneakoscope, am I right?" Harry nodded. "The spell is 'Examino.' It will serve as a Horcrux-tester for no longer than seven seconds. In that time, you must tuch it to the object to believe to be a Horcrux. If it goes off in the same way as a normal sneakoscope, you have a Horcrux."

Harry registered all this before asking, "And... how do I destroy it?"

"First you must focus clearly on the person to whom the Horcrux belongs, then point your wand at it and say 'Scruxio'. Just make sure you aren't touching it when you perform the spell or you might end up with this." Dumbledore smiled and indicated his shriveled, blackened hand.

Harry nodded to show that he understood.

Dumbledore smiled at him and said "I will not be able to search for more Horcruxes with you, not after what has happened tonight. However, I trust you will have it no other way to search for them yourself." Harry nodded. "So, in order to help you, I will copy all of my memories that may help you and put them in another pensieve for you to keep. I must go now to do that and do away with our Vanishing Cabinet. You will find your friends to make sure they are alright."

Harry turned to leave, but stopped at the sound of Dumbledore's voice.

"Oh, and Harry," Harry looked at him. "Please tell no one of what you are doing except for, if you wish, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger and..." Dumbledore paused and smiled knowingly, "Miss Weasley."

Harry returned the smile and headed out the door and out the spiral staircase.

A/N: Did you know that when 2 Neptuned are aligned on New Years Eve, whatever story submitted on that day will recieve a review from all readers?