Disclaimer: Praise be to JKR. Also, much credit to Anya and Karen at daisygrrl dot com just for providing the phrase Naked Quidditch!

Also, credit for Wizard of Oz references last chapter belong to L. Frank Baum and MGM. (Trivia for the day - Baum's description of Kansas in the book are actually based on his experiences while living in drought-ridden Dakota Territory.)

Horcrux Hide and Seek

Following a simple picnic supper at the Burrow, the twins headed back to their flat above their shop. Lee Jordan and Alicia Spinnet had been dating, and the twins teased them mercilessly. Fred had been going out with Angelina Johnson lately, and George and Katie Bell had begun seeing each other recently as well. The six of them often gathered at the twins' flat to watch Muggle films in the evenings. Somehow the twins had enchanted a television and VCR to work off magic. Their father was, predictably, entranced, and the twins planned to give him a set for Christmas.

"Can you believe we got the blame for that disappearing clothes trick?" Fred shook his head.

"What I can't believe is that we never thought of it first!" George said. "Think of the possibilities we missed… Naked Charms class, naked Potions… naked Quidditch!"

"Ah, but we must boldly forge ahead, into the future."

George's eyes drifted shut as a dreamy expression crossed his face. "Brilliant. Imagine the possibilities."

"Oho, this could provide a whole new line! We set the charm to react to the Dark Mark by making their robes go invisible! Think of the effect of that one on Voldyshorts. A re-enactment of The Emperor's New Clothes." Fred chuckled wickedly.

"Only way, way uglier." George grimaced. "We could trigger it by body heat, so as soon as they start warming up for throwing Unforgiveables, presto!"

"We could build that in to any of our devices right now." Fred's eyes narrowed. "Adverse reaction to the Dark Mark."

"How would we do that, though?"

"Set it to react to any Protean Charm?"

"More specific, we need to set it to react to Protean Charms bound to the skin."

"Brilliant."

Grimmauld Place was quiet. Luna and Neville had got settled into their rooms quickly, and the Grangers were trying to adjust to the strangeness of living in an invisible house, riddled with Dark magic. They had been cautioned not to touch anything. They had plenty of unpacking to do, so Hermione hesitantly left them alone in their suite. Tonks and Lupin had retired early, leaving the six young people to amuse themselves in the library.

"Let's play Loaded Questions!" Hermione clapped her hands. "It's a game to test how well we know each other."

Harry sighed. He had barely skimmed Sirius's book, and he thought he really wanted to read. "It'll be a late night reading by wand-light," he thought. "At least the subject matter is stimulating,"

"Okay, the rules are simple," Hermione explained. "One person asks a question, and everyone writes down an answer. The questioner reads the responses and tries to puzzle out who wrote which answer. Each correct guess is worth one point."

"But I would recognize everyone's handwriting," Ginny frowned. "I wouldn't even need to read them."

"I charmed the quills so all the handwriting will look the same." Hermione looked a bit smug.

"Do we have to tell the truth?" Ron asked. "Or can we make stuff up like we did for Trelawney's homework?"

"It's up to you. Write anything you want. I'll start, shall I?" She smiled brightly and asked:

"If you could rid the earth of three creatures, which three would you dispose of?"

After a few minutes of scratching quills, Hermione scanned the five slips of parchment.

"Alright, this one that says 'spiders, acromatulas and tarantulas,' has got to be Ron. 'Dementors, Evil Dark Lords and Animagus rats,' is Harry. 'Mosquitoes, Nargles and Snarfblats,' is Luna. 'Aphids, locusts and Boggarts,' is Neville. That leaves this one, 'disobedient house-elves, incompetent Ministers of Magic, and cupid dwarves,' to be Ginny? Really Ginny," Hermione said disapprovingly, "'Disobedient house-elves?'"

Ginny grinned. "You said we didn't have to be truthful. I thought I'd get a little creative with my answers. Did I hit a nerve?" she arched her eyebrows in challenge.

"Nyah." Hermione stuck her tongue out at Ginny. "I get five points then. You go next, smarty pants."

"What is your favourite beverage?" Ginny asked.

Harry was bored senseless. This game was silly and he had better things to do than answer what his favourite color was, or his favourite food, or where he was when he got his first Hogwarts letter. He had thrown everyone off when he answered "Hermione," for "Who was your first kiss?" She had given him a kiss on the cheek once, he said, when Luna had incorrectly guessed Ron.

"I'd rather be doing anything else right now," he thought restlessly. "Even cleaning." Actually, cleaning Grimmauld Place hadn't been so bad two years ago; they'd found some weird things… Maybe next week's Defense classes with Lupin would be interesting. Wands-on learning was much better than textbooks. He wondered what kinds of things they might run across. Last time they'd cleaned they'd sprayed doxies out of the curtains. He wondered idly what the twins had made with the ones they'd pocketed. Then there had been that weird jewelry box that made everyone sleepy. Good thing Ginny had sense to slam it shut. Something else was tickling his memory. There was something else, something important… He scowled, fingers pressed tightly to his temples, struggling to dredge up the memories.

"Harry! It's your turn!" sang Hermione's irritatingly chipper voice. "Argh! So close!" The knowledge teased him, flitting in and out of his brain, just out of reach. His long fingers clenched, as if trying to help him catch the elusive thought.

He rose abruptly. "I need to go to bed. I'm really tired. You guys keep playing though. G'night." Without a backwards glance, he left the room.

Ginny stared after him worriedly. "He looked like he could use a headache potion," she fretted. "Maybe he got too much sun today. I'll go check on him."

Ron just shook his head. "No, he wants time alone. There's something going on in his head and he wants to sort it out. He'll tell us when he's ready," he said warningly. "Just give him a little space."

Ginny glared at him.

Neville spoke up. "It looked like he was trying to remember something. He might need quiet to think."

Ginny frowned at both boys. "Fine, let's get back to the game then."

Harry restlessly prowled his and Ron's room. He picked things up and set them down. Thinking a snack might help, he made his way down to the basement kitchen. He dug a biscuit out of a jar and munched it while he opened cupboard doors haphazardly, glanced inside and shut them again. Opposite the pantry, he yanked open the door to the boiler room. Lighting his wand, he peered inside. Something reflective in the far corner gave his stomach a jolt. "Ugh. Kreacher's rubbish," he realized.

Sighing, he crept in to get a closer look. He supposed someone should look after the elf's effects, and he had technically been Harry's elf at the end. "Damn it. That foul little bastard betrayed us all, and I feel guilty because I don't care that he died."

There was a massive pile of pictures, old clothing and other cast-offs. Harry rifled through the pile, and tugged on a heavy gold chain that finally triggered the elusive memory. Something in his chest tightened in anticipation. He was holding his breath when the chain came loose and Harry found himself gazing at the unopenable locket they'd discovered two years ago.

He glanced frantically over the rest of the pile, wondering for a moment if perhaps Regulus had accumulated any other Horcruxes for Kreacher to squirrel away. There was no sign of Hufflepuff's cup, nor anything that looked remarkable enough to be Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's. He wrapped the locket in an old rag, careful not to touch the pendant itself. He knew they had all handled it before, but he clearly remembered Katie Bell's near-death experience with a different cursed locket and didn't want to take any risks.

Harry hardly believed he had found the mysterious locket at last. It was almost as if he'd been driven to it. Holding the grubby package in his hand, crouched alone in a dark, cobwebby cupboard, he felt a strange urge. The necklace seemed to call him, urging him to put it around his neck. Excitement and dread pounded through his veins and he felt power emanating from the package. He could have that power if he'd just put it on… He shuddered, his hand tightening.

A fleeting thought wormed into his mind. I won't tell the others, won't tell anyone. This is mine, my secret…power… Foreign emotions crept through his veins: greed, selfishness… As his hand pulled the package closer to his chest, his eyes widened in fear and horror. "No, no, NO!" He fought an internal battle, staring at the rag-wrapped locket still in his hand.

He remembered feeling drawn to Riddle's diary, but it hadn't been nearly this strong. He had even handled this very locket before, and had not noticed such a pull. Why was he reacting this way? They'd been in the house for weeks, why had it attracted him now? Had Voldemort done something to activate it? Could he be calling out to his Horcruxes as a way to add to his own power? Or was it beacon, calling Voldemort to find it?

"Oh bloody hell," he gasped, horrified. He scrambled out of the cupboard, colliding with a very anxious Ginny.

He threw the package on the table and backed away from it, pulling Ginny with him.

"Harry, calm down." He shuddered as she rubbed his back. "Harry, love, you're going to hyperventilate. Slow down. What's the matter?" she asked when he seemed to have pulled himself together. "What is that thing?" She frowned at the grimy bundle on the table. She reached out for it, but Harry jerked her back.

"No! Don't touch it," he snapped sharply. "It's that damned bloody locket."

"Oh Merlin, Harry, you found the Horcrux? How did you find it?" She grinned. "This is great! You are so amazing!" She pulled him down for a series of excited kisses. The ice in his blood thawed a bit.

"You tell me to catch my breath just so you can take it away again?"

She just smiled and dragged him out of the kitchen. "Come on, let's get the others!"

Ginny raced to the library to tell the others, while Harry headed up to Lupin's room. He paused before knocking, hearing voices.

"Remus, quit calling me Nymphadora! You know I hate that name," Tonks said, exasperated.

"Sorry, love. Perhaps you'd prefer Nymph-adorable?" Lupin teased.

Harry shook his head and knocked firmly. He would have a word with Lupin about remembering Silencing Charms on doors. "Nymphadorable. Really, that's worse than Mollywobbles. What is it with adults and their weird nicknames?"

"Professor Lupin?" Harry called through the closed door, "We have a Horcrux in the kitchen. Come down when you can, please."

In the kitchen, the locket gleamed malevolently from the middle of the table. Ginny dumped it out of the rag it was wrapped in, but no one touched it.

"Regulus must have brought it here and hidden it, then was killed before he could destroy it," Hermione guessed. "We found it when we were cleaning two years ago, and Kreacher took it to hide in his cupboard."

Harry related the story of his discovery to the group, as well as the fears he had of it being a homing beacon to Voldemort.

"Even if he could track it, he couldn't get in here because of the Fidelius Charm," Hermione said.

"No, but Snape could. We have to re-do that charm, and soon." Harry's voice was clipped.

"Harry, perhaps it was simply caused by close proximity to it," Lupin suggested. "You were in the kitchen for a long time this morning, making breakfast. Did you notice anything then?"

"No, I really didn't." Harry frowned thoughtfully. "Things were kind of crazy this morning."

"But that's when you started getting that little twitch in your subconscious?" Lupin queried.

"No, I think it was when we got back here from the Burrow."

"Well, it could have been pulling at you all along," Tonks suggested. "You were distracted this morning. Then at the Burrow the pull was gone, so you only really felt it again when you returned here."

Harry looked doubtful. "Regardless, we need to destroy it as soon as possible."

"First, we need to call Dobby," Hermione said.

CRACK.

"Sirs and Misses call for Dobby?"

Neville and Luna seemed unsurprised by the house-elf, until they noticed he was wearing clothes. Luna actually blinked, and Neville's eyes widened.

"Dobby," Harry said earnestly, "Meet Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. They're going to help us. If they give you something, you can track them as well, yes?"

"Oh yes, Harry Potter sir!" Dobby writhed excitedly. "Dobby loves helping Harry Potter and his friends! Harry Potter's friends are very nice to Dobby."

"Excellent! They can go get some socks for you." Luna and Neville went to get him a sock. "Dobby, I'm sorry to call you so late. Do you remember that thing I asked you about before? I need to know if you remember anything with magic in it like this."

Dobby waved his hands over the locket for a moment, then picked it up. He turned it over, inspecting it critically.

"Could you use it to find the rest of the soul pieces?" Hermione asked eagerly.

Dobby's ears drooped sadly. "No Miss, the living bit inside is very small, and the locket has been held by too many people for Dobby to trace."

"If you had another piece, would that work?" Ginny asked.

Dobby frowned. "Dobby might could do it with two pieces. Dobby would try very hard."

"I don't want that thing here if we aren't going to destroy it right away," Harry said uneasily. "Is there somewhere we could keep it until we destroy it? And not in the Room of Requirement," Harry cautioned. "Malfoy has hidden stuff in there. Not down in the Chamber either. If there is any kind of outside entrance to the Chamber, you can bet Riddle would know about it."

Suddenly Dobby clapped his hands in delight. "Dobby has an idea!" He Summoned an old silver goblet from a cupboard and Transfigured it into a trophy. He dropped the locket inside and sealed it shut. "This is special house-elf magic!"

When he turned the trophy to Harry for approval, Harry gave him a lopsided smile. "Uh, that's really great Dobby, that's excellent. Good job." He patted the proud little elf on the shoulder. Dobby's tennis ball eyes were filled with adoration as Harry passed the trophy around to the others.

"Harry Potter - Special Services to Hogwarts."

"What's the matter, mate?" Harry frowned at Ron. "You look like you've seen a dementor."

"Harry…" Ron gaped at him, "Tom Riddle has a trophy just like this."