The next morning they all sat around the kitchen table when the doorbell rang. They stopped buttering their toast and pouring their orange juice and looked anxiously at each other. Harry grabbed his wand and headed to the front door with a quick signal for the rest of them to stay behind. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

He almost started laughing as a postman stood before him. His bike was by the road and he had on his pouch for carrying letters.

"I've a letter for a Harry Potter," he said cheerfully "Is that you then lad?" Harry nodded his head mutely and accepted the letter. The postman chatted a little about the weather before retreating with a happy wave. Harry carried the note back into the kitchen and opened it quickly. It read -

Dear Harry,

I could not owl you because the owls are being watched and intercepted. I hope you didn't get too much of a scare having a muggle postman suddenly at your door.

I need you, Ron and Hermione to meet me in Cambridge today at 2pm. A bus (number 113) can pick you up outside the village. It's a bit of a walk but you must travel as muggles. There is a coffee shop at the end of the square called 'Starbucks'. I'll meet you outside. Be discreet.

Yours sincerely,

Remus Lupin

Ps- the fare on the bus is five pounds and twenty five pence for each of you.

Harry passed the note to Ron and Hermione, both seemed suddenly worried. Luna and Susan were upset that they couldn't go, but said they'd find a way to entertain themselves. Harry decided that they should probably destroy the Horcrux before going, and so all three of them made their way to the study and sealed the doors.

Harry pulled the locket out from the place he had hidden it and they all looked at it curiously. He tried to feel the magic in it but couldn't feel a thing. Shrugging he put the locket on, at which point Ron started to laugh. Harry grinned at his friend, and ignored the guilty feeling he had. The locket felt heavy on his chest and the metal was oddly cold. He got himself comfortable and took a deep breath. Hermione was trying to stay calm and not let her feelings of worry show, but wasn't doing that good of a job. Ron gave her an odd and calculating look before looking once again at Harry. He slowly uttered the words -

'Liberatio pravus fascino'

And readied himself for the sickly draining of his powers…he waited…and waited…Finally he opened one eye to look around him and found Ron looking confused and Hermione looking relieved.

"Regulus must have actually destroyed the Horcrux!" she said happily and hugged Harry fiercely. Harry smiled at her and Ron and took the locket off.

"Do you reckon that's how he died?" asked Ron?

"No, he was killed by death eaters remember?" said Harry "He got cold feet about Voldemort's gang when they started murdering innocent people."

"Funny that," said Ron.

Harry put the locket upstairs in his bedside table next to the tiara and was mentally going through what he had left. 'The ring is gone, the book is gone, the tiara is gone, the locket is gone…that leaves the cup, Nagini and Voldemort himself' He repeated these things like a mantra as he got ready for his journey to Cambridge.

At 12.30pm they decided to leave the cottage and walk to the bus stop outside the village. Ron was complaining about the long walk, and by the end of it Harry didn't blame him one bit.

"Do you think we could move to Grimmauld place?" said Ron breathing hard "It's a quicker walk from that house to a coffee shop, and we know it's safe now since Snape can't tell Snake face where it is."

"No," said Harry who's breathing wasn't at all laboured "I don't feel comfortable staying in the same place that Sirius hated. Too many bad memories." Ron nodded his head in agreement and said no more until they reached the bus stop.

"When's the next one?" he asked Harry. Harry was rather irritated at this question because he was sitting on the wall away from the bus times. Hermione was the one reading them.

"I don't know," said Harry a bit tersely "Why don't you ask Hermione?" Ron went a little red at this then mumbled the same question to Hermione.

"The next one is at 1.30," she said, ignoring Ron's unease. Ron sat there is silence for a while looking around him in amazement and nudging Harry from time to time. Eventually he asked -

"What time is it anyway?"

"No idea!" said Hermione and laughed a little. Ron gave a half grin back and they sat in silence again until the bus came.

After a boring trip on the bus for Harry, but an exciting one for Ron, they managed to locate the Starbuck's that Lupin had written of. They waited outside for a while and didn't recognise Lupin when he arrived at 2pm exactly according to a clock on the side of a shop. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans, a long green sleeved t shirt and had a blue rucksack thrown over his shoulder. He looked almost young and seemed it with every step he took. They said their hello's and battled through the sea of people inside to find a place to sit. Lupin went to get them coffee's, and returned about fifteen minutes later looking thoroughly harassed. After they all had their coffee's in front of them and had gone over the basic pleasantries one must to be polite, Ron finally asked the question they all wanted to know.

"So what did you want anyway?" he said, and they laughed at Ron's sudden bluntness. Rather than answer them straight away Lupin dug around inside his rucksack and pulled out a rolled newspaper. He unrolled it and placed it on front of them and watched Harry carefully with obvious worry.

Harry stared at the headline of the paper, reeling with shock. He kept reading it over and over, not believing his eyes. The newspaper article was as follows:

TWO MUGGLES KILLED AND HOUSE BURNS TO GROUND

Two muggles were killed in the early hours of the morning. It is rumoured that a group of death eaters stormed the house in Little Whinging, Surrey, was burned to the ground shortly after. One of the residents escaped unharmed and is now under the protection of Aurors. After much investigation the daily prophet can bring you the exclusive news that this was the home of Harry Potter.

His Aunt Petunia is the sister of the late Lily Potter, who was murdered by You-know-who when Harry was a baby. The ministry has tried to locate Harry Potter but has been unable to do so. The two muggles killed were his Uncle and Cousin, Vernon and Dudley Dursley. Our experts say that they were first tortured with the cruciatus curse before finally being killed by the Avada Kedavra curse. It is assumed that the death eaters tortured them for information as to the whereabouts of Harry Potter, but our sources cannot say whether or not they were successful. For more details on this story see page 5.

A picture of 4 privet drive accompanied the article, and was blackened and charred. He felt Hermione's hand on his shoulder and was grateful that she was with him. He didn't speak for a long time, but sat there thinking about who else had to die for him. He had never liked Vernon, Dudley and Aunt Petunia, but he certainly never wished anything like this to happen. He thought of the tickling charm he had cast of Vernon just before he left on his birthday and was overcome with guilt and disgust. The last time he had seen his only real family he had used magic on them, the one thing they feared the most. He felt hot tears begin to burn at his eyes, and he closed them quickly so no one could see how weak he really was.

"Harry," said Lupin quietly "your Aunt Petunia is staying with Tonks and I. She…well she wants to see you…" Harry nodded his head. He had expected her to want to see him. He knew this was going to be a very bitter reunion, but he felt he deserved it.

"Lets go," he said simply, trying not to let his voice crack. Everyone was quiet as they left Starbucks and made their way to Lupin's house.