Chapter Five: R.A.B.

Harry stared into the fire thinking of all that had happened in the past few months. He had found out what horcruxes were, found out more about Voldemort's past, and had helped Dumbledore find a fake horcrux. Then Dumbledore had been killed by Snape.

Cursing under his breath Harry wondered about the look on Snape's face before he performed curse. Then how Hagrid had mentioned that Snape and Dumbledore had argued at one point, but what had they argued about? Harry would never know because one was dead, and the other was now under a lot of pressure because of what he had done.

Thinking about it made Harry go cold. One being because of the fact that Snape had kept the other Death Eaters from taking him to Voldemort. Why had he done that? Then there was the fact that Harry had found out that Snape had been the Half-Blood-Prince. Though it should have been obvious when he knew the counter curse to the curse Harry had used on Malfoy.

Turning his thoughts to other things Harry tried to figure out who had found the locket and left the decoy. Whoever had done it had known that they would more than likely be dead by the time anyone found out about that horcrux. But there was no way to know if they had destroyed it or not. But who was R.A.B.?

Sighing, Harry resigned to the fact that he needed to get some sleep, for it was closer to dawn than midnight. He stood and stretched causing every muscle to pop. He put the fire out and went into the tent to get a little rest.

- - - -

Harry woke that morning shortly after dawn to find Ginny beside him with a worried look on her face.

"You were up until dawn, weren't you?" Ginny asked as Harry sat up.

"I was asleep by four." Harry said stretching. "Why?"

"Because you have dark lines under your eyes." Ginny paused before saying, "And don't you dare try to convince me that it doesn't matter!"

"Well, it doesn't matter. I was just trying to figure something out last night and lost track of time." Harry explained trying to calm Ginny's temper.

Ginny took a few deep breaths before she sat down next to Harry. "So, what were you trying to figure out?"

Harry stared at thin air for a few moments before he decided to tell Ginny. "You remember how I left with Dumbledore to get that horcrux att he end of last term?"

Ginny nodded and waited for Harry to continue.

Sighing Harry told Ginny about why he was up so late the previous night. "So, you see, I've been trying to figure out who R.A.B. is. And I asked Hermione, but she couldn't think of any names that would fit."

Both sat in thoughtful silence fir a moment, both lost in their own thoughts.

As Harry continued to stare at thin air, Ginny got a thoughtful look on her face. "Didn't Sirius say that his brother was a Death Eater?"

Startled by the question Harry stared at Ginny for a moment before nodding. "Why?" Harry aske4d when he found his voice again.

"Because he could have been the one who got to the horcrux first." Ginny then proceeded to point out other specific clues that had lead her to this conclusion. When she was done, Harry stared at her with his mouth hanging open slightly.

"You do have a point, Ginny." Harry said remembering the time he had spent at Grimmauld Place before his fifth year. Then he remembered the locket that Sirius had thrown away, but Kreacher had taken it. "Just have to see if Ron and Hermione agree."

- - - -

Ron had a blank look on his face at what he was being told. That Ginny may have figured out who R.A.B. was! But how was it that Hermione, the smartest girl he knew and his girlfriend, hadn't figured it out? Though Hermione had a look of deep thought on her face.

When Harry and Ginny finished explaining a tense silence fell over the group. It was only broken when Hermione spoke up.

"So, you two think Sirius' brother is R.A.B.?" Hermione asked in an nervous voice.

Groaning slightly, Harry said, "Yes! And it does seem to fit. Because you think about it, Sirius said his brother got frightened at one point and tried to get out of being a Death Eater." Harry paused to make sure the others were on the same page as him.

When all of them nodded he continued. "I figure it was like this. As he got more into the activities that Death Eaters take part in, he found out that Voldemort," Hermione and Ginny tensed up slightly and Ron's eyes went a little wide. But Harry ignored this and continued, "had made horcruxes so he was in some ways, immortal.

"And that is what frightened him. But before he backed out he found one of the horcruxes and destroyed it. Though he left a fake in its place, and the note. So you see, it fits!"

Silence fell over the group after Harry's explanation.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was only a few minutes, Ron spoke up. "So, how are we going to find out for sure?"

"Simple." Harry said, and Ron caught on. They were going back to Grimmauld Place.

- - - -

A/N: I am really sorry about the delay in this update! School started up and I already have at least a small assignment every day, so updates may take a bit longer. So please be patient with updates! For status on when updates may be expected, I place that in my bio once in a while. I try to put in there when an update can be expected, though it's not completely accurate.

I'm sorry if the Harry/Ginny bits get a bit old, but this story has a lot of that.

I currently have the next chapter started, but it's going to be one of the longer chapters with the way it is going right now. For Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione go back to Grimmauld Place, and Harry goes back to another place. Who can guess where he goes to?

Thanks to all those who have reviewed!