AN- Thanks to all the darlings who reviewed, you know I love you guys. Since many of you wanted to know, this is a Hermione/Sirius Pairing…

CHAPTER 2

Harry looked around nervously.

The lantern had flickered very, very low, and threw such faint light all around that the library was steeped in cold darkness. He took out his wand, and gently tapped the lantern.

'Incendio.'

Immediately, it re-lit itself and spread a comforting glow. Thanking Hermione silently, Harry slipped his wand back into his pocket.

He glanced at the figures of his two best friends, crouched on the floor with their heads dipped into the Pensive. He was incredibly bored and nervous sitting there, wondering when it would get over. He would budget them two more minutes, he decided and then pull them out.

His thoughts began to wander. Unhappiness surged through him, as he thought of his past and his future. Like many times before, he found himself wishing that Dumbledore had shared with him how to find the Horcruxes. It all seemed so futile without that. He felt like a blind child looking for a pin in a forest. Earlier, the one shred of comfort he had had was Ginny, but now-

He bit his lip with anger and frustration. Ginny wasn't his anymore. He knew that he still loved her, and that she still loved him, but she wasn't like that. She couldn't sit and wait alone. Instead, she had thrown herself right back into the game. It hurt Harry every time he saw her draped over Seamus's arm, and knew it hurt her as much. But she was Ginny, proud and stiff- she would never be alone.

He shook his head. He shouldn't be wallowing in self pity like this. He had, after all the two best friends in the world, and Dumbledore and Sirius-

As these thoughts slipped through his mind, his hands reached up and clawed at his head. He did not have Dumbledore and Sirius. He never would, never again…

He glanced back at his two friends, and realized that it was probably time to pull them out again. He reached forward, gripped their collars (he had to shift the bunch of frizz which was Hermione's ponytail out of the way first) and dragged them out of the bowl. They were wrenched out, and sat, gasping and panting on the floor of the library, they're faces shining.

'Well?' Harry asked. 'How was it?'

Hermione looked up at him, her face still glowing. 'Harry you idiot!'

'What?' he asked puzzled.

'How can you be so stupid?' she demanded. 'It's been right under our noses all along!'

'What?" Harry asked, again.

Ron interrupted.

'The locket, mate! The locket!'

'You shouldn't be here, Hermione.' Ron said, anxiously.

She rolled her eyes. 'Will you relax? The boy's dorm is almost empty.'

'Seamus and Neville are sleeping there.' Ron pointed out.

'Which is why we've pulled the drapes down on Harry's bed, and I've put a Silencing charm on it.' Hermione said coldly. Ron looked around at the silky red box they were sitting in.

'I hope it's enough.' he said, gruffly. 'Seamus is a light sleeper.'

Hermione sighed. 'You know, for someone who claims to be clever-.'

'Um, guys?' Harry's voice dripped with sarcasm. 'If I remember rightly, you just popped out of my Pensive to tell me that one of Voldemort's Horcruxes has been under our noses all this time. Then, you refused to tell me exactly what you were talking about in the library, and dragged me to the dorm, and now you're sitting and bickering. Normally, I wouldn't have a problem, but-.'

Hermione cut across him.

'You're an idiot. Harry, we've all seen that locket before.'

'Harry looked perplexed. 'Where, exactly?'

'Grimmauld Place, of course!' Hermione exclaimed. 'Don't you remember! When we were cleaning out the house, in the summer vacations right after Voldemort came back. We found a large golden locket which nobody could open.'

'Yeah!' Ron said, nodding. 'Mom thought it was too good to throw off, so she put it in the enchanted safe, along with all the other important stuff.'

'So then,' Harry began. 'What about RAB…?'

'I have an inkling about that.' Hermione said. 'But I need to go check some things first. Right now, the locket is our first priority.'

Harry nodded, his memory refreshed. 'What an idiot I am!' he mused. 'It's been their all alone!' He looked up. 'We need to go get it. Now'

'Now?' Hermione asked, confused. 'Why now?'

'Now.' Harry replied, determinedly. 'It's important, Hermione! Now.'

Hermione and Ron glanced at each other. They couldn't miss the urgency in his voice.

'Well,' Hermione said, quietly. 'We'll need to get permission, Harry. Floo networks have been blocked, remember?'

'Fine then.' Harry said, savagely. 'We'll ask McGonagall.'

'She might be- you know, asleep- at this time of the night,' Ron said, helpfully. 'It's half past twelve.'

'Well then,' Harry said, his voice suddenly calm. 'We'll have to wake her up.'

Hermione sighed. 'Oh all right. Come on, Ron. There's no arguing with him.'

Professor McGonagall glanced at the three students in front of her. She was dressed in a tartan dressing gown, and was holding a candle with a low wick in one withered hand.

'Let me get this straight,' she said, in a deadly whisper. 'You wake me up at some unearthly hour in the night by pounding on my door, and when I open it, Potter screams at me, 'Fire!' The minute I begin to alert the students, Ms. Granger deems to tell me that there isn't really a fire, which Mr. Weasley seems to find humorous, since he began laughing so loudly he woke all the portraits in my office. And now Potter tells me that he needs my fire?'

She paused to inhale.

'What's wrong with the fire in your Common Room, for heavens sake? Isn't it warm enough? And if not, wouldn't a simple spell restore it? I mean to say, gallivanting around at-.'

'Professor!' Hermione interrupted. 'What Harry meant is that we need a floo connection.'

Her headmistress's eyes popped. 'A floo connection? At this time of the night?'

'It's urgent.' Hermione said, desperately. 'And yours is the only fire with one. Please, professor, you know the circumstances.'

Professor McGonagall hesitated. 'Your safety is my first priority,' she began.

'We're going to Grimmauld Place.' Ron interrupted. 'All the order members will be there.'

There were a few seconds of silence. Then,

'Very well,' Professor McGonagall said, finally. 'Follow me.'

She turned on heel, and set off through the mahogany door where she had been standing. The three followed her in to her private rooms, which were separate from Dumbledore's since she did not want to sleep where he used to, out of respect. A fire raged in the comfortable room.

'I hope,' she said, tersely, reaching out for a pot filled with glittering powder, 'That you know what you're doing. I'm not going to bother asking, since you're not going to tell me.'

'We'll be fine, professor,' Ron promised.

Professor McGonagall turned around, and threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace.

'No. 12 Grimmauld Place,' she said, clearly, as emerald flames leaped up in her grate. 'Well, go on then the three of you. Be careful. I don't know if anybody would be up yet.'

Harry nodded, and stepped into the fire. he immediately disappeared. Ron and Hermione made to follow, but Professor McGonagall gripped their arms, and looked beseechingly at them.

'Before you leave,' she said, quietly. 'Take care of that boy. He needs you.'

They nodded, quietly. Hermione stepped into the fire first, and Ron followed.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

In case any of you are interested as to where the whole locket theme came up, it was because I was reading OOTP once more, and I noticed a part where they did come across a golden locket which nobody could open while cleaning out the House of Black. That gave me some ideas about who RAB could be too….