Chapter 3 Black Manor
"Mudbloods and blood traitors!" The familiar scream came from the portrait that had some how lost its cover.
"Stuff it." Ron grunted as he threw a wad of paper at the painting with the cracked oil paint.
"You throw stuff at me now, but if you knew how I could help you, then you'd be nice to me, filthy little vermin!" Sirius' mother squawked. "Yes," she answered the blank stares of the Order of the Phoenix, missing two members, "I know where he hid his journal, the old coot!"
"You know where Albus' journal is?" Minerva asked hopefully.
"Yes." The portrait grinned.
"Where?" Minerva gasped.
"I can't tell you." The portrait sneered, "I can only tell the one who is supposed to use it, whoever that is."
"What are you talking about?" Moody barked.
"The old traitor put a spell on me, I can only tell where he hides his journal to the person who is supposed to use it. This person must ask me 'Where is the journal' but only one person can ask me, and if it is the wrong person, then you have to find it yourself."
"Well," Minerva said through pursed lips, "We must then decide who Albus would think is supposed to read the journal."
"How are we even to begin?" Ron asked.
"I would think the answer is obvious," Hermione put in, "His journal is obviously important Order business, and is there for about bringing down Lord Voldemort, and the current plan that Dumbledore was working on was finding and destroying the horcruxes."
"My though exactly," Minerva stated, "And we all know who is now leading the expedition."
All eyes turned and looked into the brilliant green eyes that sat below the lightning bolt scar. Harry nodded and walked towards the painting.
"Where is the journal?" Harry asked nervously.
"It is safe, where the half blood prince calls home." The portrait answered in a monotone voice, not that different from the tone of those under vertiserum.
"Snape." Harry sighed. "Where does Snape call home?"
"He lived at Hogwarts." Ron offered.
"I don't think Dumbledore would've hidden his journal is Snape's room." Ginny said, and then she turned to Sirius's mother, "What do you know about Severus Snape?"
"He was a good boy, not a blood traitor like yourself, little girl." The painting sneered, "But we Blacks didn't associate with the Snapes, that is, until my second cousin married a Snape by the name of Sneven. Who was of course, Severus' cousin."
"What about love? Did he ever have anyone?" Ginny pried.
"Now that you mention it," The painting thought, "There was one girl who loved him, my niece, at least, I'm fairly sure that's how we're related. Anyway, her name is Narcissa, but as you can tell that never played out. He never loved her back, and from what I can tell, he never loved anyone at all."
"Where is your family from?" Ginny suddenly asked.
"We are an upstanding British family!" Mrs. Black seemed offended that she would be considered at all foreign.
"Did Regulus take a vacation alone at all shortly after leaving school?" Ginny questioned.
"Yes," The painting blinked, "He went to Czechoslovakia. Why?"
"Because," Ginny grinned, "Snape went to Czechoslovakia alone after leaving Hogwarts."
"So?" The painting scoffed.
"That's where Snape calls home! Don't you see? They went together. You said that Snape never had anyone; he did once, that summer. And I'm betting, that if for once in his life he had someone, he would call wherever he had that person home!" Ginny beamed.
"That's a good theory," Minerva replied, "However, there is no proof to back it up, furthermore, to get you four to The Czech Republic would be most inconvenient, especially if you turn out to be wrong."
"Where was Snape born?" Hermione asked.
"I'm telling you I'm right!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Yes!" Harry burst, "It all fits! Dumbledore's father lives in Prague!"
"What?" Arthur asked. "If Dumbledore's father is still alive, he must be over one hundred years old!"
"One hundred eleven." Harry answered, "Dumbledore told me about his father once, a while ago, he could be dead by now. He lives in a mansion that he used to use as a hotel."
"The journal must be in the room that Severus and Regulus stayed in!" Ginny smiled.
"No!" The portrait screeched, "No one sharing my blood! Never!"
"Would somebody please shut that thing up!" Ron yelled, while Mrs. Black continued to scream.
Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione sat in uncomfortable plastic chairs. Ginny had managed to fall into a light sleep on Harry's shoulder that rose and fell softy with each of his deep breaths.
"Tell me again why we are taking a plane to The Czech Republic?" Ron asked.
"Because," Hermione answered, "Ginny can't Apparate, and we can't take a port key or use floo powder because then the Ministry would know about what we are doing!"
"But we're on the same side!" Ron whined.
"The ministry doesn't know that Voldemort made Horcruxes, and if they did, they would send a team to destroy them." Hermione sighed, reading the safety guides for the fourteenth time.
"We could use the help." Ron yawned.
"Dumbledore put Harry in charge of this task for a reason, he obviously didn't want the ministry interfering." Hermione said.
"Well, if you're so smart, then why aren't we looking for R.A.B.?" Ron challenged.
"Because we don't know where to start," Hermione answered, "Most likely, since R.A.B. stole one horcrux, he looked for the other ones too, so we'll most likely find something about him on our way."