"So… this is your home… it's… nice?"

Harry had not remembered falling asleep the previous night, nor did he remember being taken to his bed at Albus's apartment. All he knew was that when he woke up, he felt mentally refreshed and ready to take on the world.

At the moment, "the world" currently consisted of whispering in Sirius's kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place, sitting at a filthy table along with Sirius, Remus, and Albus (Dobby had taken one look, refused to enter unless he was given leave to start cleaning, and then left for an unknown location). The house was, as a generous person might observe, in a state of poor repair. A less generous person would call it a dark depressing dump of a house. It appeared to have not been dusted, cleaned, nor maintained in well over a decade.

Sirius chuckled silently, trying not to wake the portrait of his mother (Walburga Black). It had been quite jarring to Harry to be the surprise recipient of a long series of invectives as spoken by a highly angry portrait. In comparison, the muttered insults from the House Elf, Kreacher, were downright pleasant.

"I've been here for around a week, Harry, so I haven't had much time to clean up before you arrived. And, while I appreciate the polite lie, it's not necessary. I hate this place and will be happy for the next leg of our journey to start."

"Sure, but it can't take that long to use a simple cleaning charm to take care of the dust. Did you honestly not find a free hour to do that?"

All three men chuckled at that, confusing Harry.

"What?"

Albus's eyes twinkled. "We'll let you know in a moment. Go ahead and try to clean the corner of the kitchen over there."

Harry looked to where Albus was pointing and directed his wand towards the corner. Silently he cast the scouring charm that Remus had taught him. He had easily cleaned his room with it when he was in Egypt (as the sand got everywhere), so fully expected to see the spell spread and clean the entire room. The spell splashed against the corner and the dust and filth disappeared as expected, but only from the tiny spot where the spell hit. The surrounding grime remained unaffected.

Harry frowned, focused on a new spot and poured more power into the spell. The grime disappeared even quicker than before, but the radius of cleanliness remained unchanged. After staring at the two miniscule spots of cleanliness for a moment, he looked back at the three men.

"That should have worked. With the amount of energy that I poured into that… I would have cleaned our hut in Egypt in seconds. What happened?"

Remus responded in his kind teacher tone of voice. "If you truly read the full text of the book where you learned the basic cleaning spells, you should already know the answer."

Harry sighed. Remus was a fine teacher, compared to most of the staff of Hogwarts he would rate as terrific. But, learning from the books was just so dull when compared to what he learned in Albus's lessons. When given the chance between reading three paragraphs on the scouring charm, or figuring out how to shoot snow flurries from his palms, well…

Closing his eyes, he entered his mind and focused on the memory of reading the textbook. He relived opening the book, reading the text and clearly seeing the words describing the instructions for casting. The other words, those not directly relevant to casting, became blurry. That was the section of the text that he had skimmed, and those random words he had alighted one while skimming were clear. Harry groaned as he realized he really needed to start fully reading the texts that Remus assigned if he was going to full take advantage of his Occlumency skills.

Opening his eyes, he looked back at Remus's expectant expression and furrowed his brow. "All I can remember is how to cast the spell, and the phrase 'magic rich' written a few times."

Albus smiled indulgently. "Ah, you have finally discovered one of the drawbacks to magically sorting your mind in preparation to properly occlude your thoughts. I still remember the annoyance I felt when I discovered Occlumency didn't replace my need to read in detail. I'm afraid there is no true shortcut to learning the… less than exciting bits. In the future, if you have difficulty slowing down to read the boring parts, then you may want to try reading your books upside down."

Harry stared at Albus in surprise. "Is THAT why you read the newspaper upside down?"

Albus shrugged. "You may not believe it, but I am not overly fascinated by the gossip that dominates the news. Of course, with Xeno's magazine he sometimes hides upside down rune puzzles which certainly makes for a pleasant surprise."

"Xeno?"

"Xenophilius Lovegood. He is the editor of The Quibbler. It's a wonderful magazine which is one of the best sources of speculative and factual information on the most elusive magical creatures on the planet. The last edition had a fascinating article that had some insights on the mating habits of the Blibbering Humdinger. You can feel free to read my copies when I am done."

"What's a Blibbering Humdinger?"

Remus snorted (silently to avoid awaking the sleeping portrait). "Albus is having you on, Harry. They are a made-up creature. The only people who claim to have seen one are hardly what one would call sane."

Albus frowned at Remus. "With an attitude like that, I'm not surprised you haven't seen one."

Remus looked at Albus with confusion. "You're not honestly saying YOU have seen one, are you?"

"Certainly."

"Then why has The Quibbler never shown a single picture of them?"

Albus sighed, as he reached into the pocket where he kept his traveling trunk. He clearly had cast a summoning charm, as he pulled out a magazine and a photograph. He opened the magazine to a specific page near the end and handed it to Harry. He then handed the photograph to Remus.

"Harry, do you believe that Blibbering Humdingers exist?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know what they are, but I am willing to believe in them if you say they exist."

"Then read this article and know that it is completely factual. Then, look at the picture on the next page. Remus, just look at the picture I handed to you and keep quiet."

Remus rolled his eyes but kept quiet. Once Harry finished reading the article and flipped the page, his eyebrows rose and then he looked at Albus expectantly.

Albus acknowledged Harry was ready by speaking again. "Now, swap if you would be so kind. Remus, you shall now read the article and look at the picture on the next page. Harry look at the picture Remus hands you and we'll wait for him to finish."

Harry watched in confusion as Remus shook his head in disbelief as he read the article. When the man finished by flipping the page and groaned, Albus once again spoke.

"Harry, what do you see in the photograph you're holding?"

Harry looked down and smiled. "It's Hagrid standing in front of the Forbidden Forest. A bit hard to miss him."

Albus chuckled. "That it is. Remus, what else is in the photograph with Hagrid?"

Remus glanced again at the photograph. "Are you talking about the pair of Thestrals?"

Harry looked at Hagrid in confusion. "What Thestrals? Are they hiding in the forest? What are Thestrals?"

Remus's eyes narrowed in suspicion as Albus answered. "They are a type of winged horse, looking as if they might be mixed with some sort of lizard. They are standing on either side of Hagrid."

Harry looked back down at the picture, and still saw only Hagrid. "But."

Remus replied to Harry's implied question. "They are only visible to those who have seen death."

"But I've seen death! I mean… mum…"

Albus gently squeezed Harry's shoulder. "You were too young. For your magic to become attuned enough to see Thestrals, you must already truly comprehend death at the very moment you witness such a tragedy. As for what it means to 'see death', that varies from person to person. I'm grateful you can only see Hagrid."

Harry smiled faintly.

"Now, Harry, what did you see in the magazine's picture?"

Harry look back at the magazine. "A bright blue bird sitting in a tree, with four wings and with what looked like pursed human lips."

Remus frowned as he looked back down at the picture. "All I see is a tree. I assume this is another one of your bits that you and Harry have prearranged to prank me, but I'll play along for now. What are the criteria I don't meet for seeing the non-existent bird?"

Albus smiled. "Belief. The Quibbler primarily focuses on a collection of creatures that can only be seen by those who truly believe they exist. It is thought to be a part of their self-defense. They also put out some sort of magical field that makes people want to disbelieve in their existence."

Harry's eyes widened. "It's like how muggles can't see Hogwarts in photographs, or how they ignore talk of magic and King's Cross Station! People looking at the photographs are impacted by the field, aren't they?"

Remus looked back and forth between Albus and Harry, and then huffed in annoyance. "You almost had me there. But you'll have to come up with more believable lies in the future if you really want to fool me."

Harry frowned, as he looked back down at the weird blue bird. Albus leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear.

"Don't worry about Remus. The magical field works on everyone but is especially strong for people who have highly logical minds. And the more they disbelieve, the stronger the effect becomes."

Harry whispered back to Albus. "How did YOU end up believing in them then?"

"Their camouflage can be bypassed by directly seeing their magic. Though one has to be there in person. For some unknown reason, you can't bypass the effect that sticks to photographs. If you are interested in seeing on, I'll keep an eye on my mail for people asking for help with mysterious creature attacks. It will give you an excellent chance to practice your abilities to see magic in uncontrolled situations. Actually…"

Albus looked around the room they were in with an appraising eye. When he spoke again, it was no longer in a whisper.

"Harry, how would you like to test out your ability to see magic?"

Harry's eyes lit up in interest. "Really? That would be… what's the catch this time?"

Albus chuckled. "This house may be too much for you. You have some experience observing areas that are rich in magic. However, the density of different spells here can be overwhelming if you are not prepared. It's one of the reasons why I rarely used the ability at Hogwarts, as the castle is soaked in enchantments and spell work. Additionally, I would be shocked if this house has more than its fair share of magical artifacts fueled by a magic that is… let's say… less than beneficent."

Sirius barked out a loud laugh, triggering a loud caterwauling from the stairwell. He winced at the sound of Walburga's screams. Still, his smile remained. "Yes, that is what the Black family is known for, being 'less than beneficent'. Just like Snape is known for being… less than cuddly."

Harry and Remus chuckled, doing there best to ignore the screeches of the portrait. As he finished chuckling, Harry looked over at Albus.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. In fact, how about we have a contest? I'll go up a floor while you search this floor, and any lower floors that may exist. Whoever finds the least 'beneficent' artifact wins."

Albus's right eyebrow rose slightly. "That sounds like a reasonable challenge. Though I would prefer if you took someone with you, to make sure you don't touch any of the artifacts. As some of them may have especially unpleasant effects laid upon them."

"I'll take Sirius. You can take Remus."

"Very well, what are the stakes?"

Harry's brow furrowed in thought. After a few seconds he smiled and responded. "If I win, I get to do something embarrassing to Remus, and if you win you get to embarrass Sirius."

Albus smiled and shook Harry's hand as the two Marauders spoke out their duly ignored objections.

Harry prepared to leave the kitchen but stopped at the door. With a thought, he activated his ability to view magic and stumbled back a step. The magic of the house pulsed with thousands of different vibrating colors, many of them coated in hues that seemed to glow with unnatural light. The swirl of color blinded him to the physical world. Recalling his first lesson at Malfoy Manor, he forced himself to focus on only the magic of the kitchen door which made all of the other colors fade away from his perceptions and allowed him to once again see the world around him. Looking over at Albus, he grinned at the proud look in the man's eyes.

"We'll compare results in half an hour. Come on Sirius!"

A touch more than thirty minutes later, Albus and Remus found Sirius and Harry standing in front of the portrait of Sirius's mother. Oddly, Walburga was not screaming, and Harry was having a pleasant conversation with both her and Kreacher. Sirius stood to the side, with his face representing the perfect picture of speechless shock.

As the two men approached, Walburga adjusted her attention from Harry to Remus. Her previously genuine smile transformed into a distinctly predatory one. When she spoke, it was with a tone of forced pleasantness.

"Hello, Mister Lupin. I do apologize for my earlier behavior. Mister Potter here was just helping me… understand my son's… choices in life, and it appears that I was… mistaken about him. Had I known before… well… please let Kreacher know if there is anything the Black family can do for you. You are a friend of the House of Black after all. And no sacrifice is too great for one's friends. Don't you agree?"

As Walburga's portrait looked over at Sirius and slyly winked, Remus paused in confusion. He looked at Sirius's shellshocked face and Harry's innocent smile. Then he looked at Kreacher's viciously anticipatory smile, and back up to Walburga.

"Thank you, Mrs. Black. I accept your apology. As for your question, I suppose I would have to agree?"

As Walburga's expression turned victorious, Harry cleared his throat.

"Thank you for the lovely conversation Mrs. Black. The history of your lovely home was fascinating. I hope we can talk again soon. And Kreacher, keep up the excellent work you are doing for Mrs. Black."

As Harry waved his hand toward the portrait, Kreacher smiled with genuine pride.

"And thank you Mister Potter. This conversation has been most… enlightening."

With a smile, Harry indicated for the men to follow him upstairs. As they followed, Albus spoke to Walburga.

"Walburga, it has been a pleasure as always."

Walburga's expression turned icy as her smile transformed into a sneer. When she spoke, it was in a tone of utter loathing and disgust.

"Dumbledore"

With that, the curtains around her portrait snapped shut.

Harry waited at the top of the stairs for Albus to join them. Looking over at Albus, he spoke with a tone of curiosity.

"So, what did you find?"

Albus shrugged. "In a corner of the basement, I found a pocket watch. Of course, I didn't have the time to fully determine every curse upon it, as it was heavily enchanted. One of the curses looked as if it was designed to cause a person's eyes to boil, presumably when trying to read the time. Another curse was on the chain, which I believe would cause it to lengthen and try to strangle the holder. Yet another curse seemed to cause a simple incontinence effect when winding the watch, which seemed rather petty when compared to the nastier effects. My best guess is that there are at least five more curses applied that have much nastier effects, and perhaps another five with lesser effects."

Harry sighed in defeat. "That sounds much worse than what I found. Not that I know what it does since I didn't try to touch it, but its magic was just waves of an angry looking blackness rolling around it, with tiny tendrils sticking off and roaming across the surface."

Albus faltered mid-step, shot a piercing look at Harry, and then continued walking as if all was normal. Harry looked at his mentor with a mild confusion. It took less than a minute before they stopped at an ancient cabinet with glass doors. Harry pointed to a locket sitting on the top shelf.

"That's it. So, what does it do?"

Albus bent down to peer at the locket. "Well, at a surface look, it appears to be a fairly well-kept family heirloom. Though, it seems to not be of a typical design of the Black family. Now, I supposed I should see what is going on with its magic."

Harry watched as Albus's face paled slightly. The man stayed bent over the locket for nearly five minutes, muttering silently under his breath. When he finally stood, he rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"Well, I suppose I should first congratulate you Harry. You have undoubtedly found the darkest artifact in this house."

Normally Harry would have smiled at this news, but Albus's grave looks made him distinctly nervous. He noted that Sirius and Remus were equally confused by the change in Albus's tone.

"What's wrong? What is it?"

Albus sighed. "I never thought he would be foolish enough to intentionally make more than one. But, alas, he always had a habit of surprising me. That, Harry, is a horcrux."

One hour later, the four of them sat silently at the kitchen table. The locket sat innocuously upon the center of the table.

While not in a full state of shock, Harry knew he was on the way to getting there.

Albus had mentioned that his scar was a horcrux, way back on that night when he was expelled. He had asked what that was the first night, but then passed out before getting an answer. After that, it just never occurred to him to ask about the thing. Part of him still wished he didn't know what it was.

A piece of the soul of Tom Riddle sat in the locket.

A piece of the soul of Tom Riddle was in the diary that possessed Ginny.

A piece of the soul of that murderous bastard had been IN HARRY'S SCAR!?

And there he went, taking another step closer to shock. He took a deep breath, checking once again that he had control of his magic. Luckily, Albus's arduous training regimen included helping Harry keep himself from losing control of his magic while under stress, and it was working.

Once again, he asked the same question he had already asked several times. "You are certain that this is a horcrux? Absolutely, utterly, without a doubt, certain?"

He appreciated that Albus answered him patiently, as if he was explaining things for the first time instead of the seventh.

"I told you months ago that I had examined your scar when you first received it, and that it was rolling in unknown dark magic. Over the years, I had compiled a sizable list of possible candidates for how Tom had survived in some manner. When you told me of your encounter with the version of Tom from the diary, that narrowed my list of possible survival techniques down to just a horcrux. Further, when you described encountering an 'ugly baby thing' after being struck by the killing curse, I made an educated guess that Tom had somehow made you, or perhaps just your scar, into a horcrux. Luckily, much like with the diary, your scar no longer contains a hint of any magic. However, the magic permeating this locket is nearly identical to the darkness that was contained in your scar. I presume the differences have to do with the defensive curses placed upon it. So, to answer your question, I am as certain as I can possibly be."

Harry nodded, rubbing his scar. "Right… and we know it belongs to Tom, because of Kreacher."

That had been quite the shock to Sirius, when the old House Elf tearily told the story of how Sirius's brother, Regulus, had died betraying the Dark Lord. How Kreacher had been trying and failing for years to follow the last order from his favorite master to destroy the locket. The poor creature had been practically giddy when Sirius promised to ensure that Regulus's last order was fulfilled. After that moment, Harry had noticed that Albus and Remus had silently agreed to split comforting duty (for which he was grateful). Albus had taken Harry, while Remus took care of Sirius as the man came to terms with having his understanding of his brother turned upside down.

Harry took another deep breath and felt his efforts to calm down had finally started to take effect. He would likely feel better after a few intensive training sessions with Albus, even if just to have the opportunity to make a few (dozen) things explode.

"Alright. So, what do we do now? How do we destroy it?"

Albus sighed. "I will tell you how to destroy it, Harry. But, first, I recommend that we delay destroying the locket."

Harry, having gained enough trust in the older man, waited patiently for an explanation. Sirius, it seemed, was not willing to wait. His head snapped up, the signs of a small but quickly growing fury etched into his expression.

"WHAT!? Regulus… my brother died to destroy that… abomination. He died with me thinking he was a devoted follower of Voldemort when he was doing far more to stop him than most members of the Order. And you want us to 'DELAY'!? What… do you want to study its magic for fun? WHAT INSANE REASON COULD YOU HAVE FOR DELAYING!?"

As Sirius stared at Albus with pain and anger filling his eyes, Remus placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. Albus met Sirius's eyes, his tone full of sympathy.

"There are more horcruxes out there, and I believe the locket will help us find them."

Sirius's anger drained away instantly, while all eyes in the room shot towards Albus. Albus turned his attention to Harry.

"Harry, if it's not too painful, can you count the number of tendrils of the black magic coming off the locket?"

Harry rubbed his eyes as he shook his head. "I kept my ability going up until the last second. I'm done for the day."

Albus nodded. "I understand, and I congratulate you for your self-awareness. As for the tendrils, there are four roaming across the surface of the locket."

Harry's frowned in response. "And?"

"Your scar had six tendrils."

While Harry tried to figure out the significance of that information, Remus seemed to understand immediately.

"You believe Voldemort created seven horcruxes and that these tendrils point toward the other fragments of his soul?"

Harry felt like a lead weight had been dropped into his stomach, as Albus responded.

"Possibly. Or he created six and one of the tendrils is connected to Tom himself. If I am correct, this means that he has four or five left after the destruction of the diary and the piece in Harry's scar."

Albus turned to Sirius, eyes full of pity. "Sirius, I truly understand your desire to destroy the locket right away. However, I hope that if we get close enough to another horcrux then we will see one of the tendrils stop roaming randomly across the surface of the locket and start trying to connect with a tendril of its brother horcrux. This may be a way to finally be done with the threat of Tom ever returning, to ensure he can never harm Harry again."

Sirius closed his eyes and sighed. He responded without opening his eyes.

"How close would you have to be? Are you sure that it would even work?"

Albus looked down at the locket.

"The few references I discovered were vague about the details of a horcrux, as none of the creators would want to have their attempts at immortality to be fully understood. I wouldn't be surprised if Tom's version of a horcrux doesn't fully match up with those of prior witches and wizards. That said, none of the texts suggested the idea of creating more than one horcrux was viable. So, no, I am not certain. I am making educated guesses. As for distance, I suspect that it would depend on what sort of magic is between the two devices. It might be as small as a meter, or as great as a kilometer. If the magical barrier is strong enough, it may not even work. But I do believe that there is a chance that it will help with locating the remaining soul fragments."

Sirius didn't respond, nor did he open his eyes. After a minute of silence, Albus sighed sadly.

"Harry, please unsheathe your sword and carefully place it on the table."

Harry unsheathed the Sword of Gryffindor from the invisible and unnoticeable sheathe strapped to his back. He gently placed it on the table next to the locket. The locket seemed to tremble slightly.

"One of the few things that can destroy a horcrux is basilisk venom. As it was soaked in the venom, a stab from your sword is the equivalent of a basilisk bite. You can stab the locket right now and it will be destroyed."

Both Sirius and Harry eyed the sword.

"In another time I may have been of a mind to make the decision for you. Now though… now I am your teacher, Harry. I am your supporter. I no longer have the will in me to make these decisions for you. You have proven yourself to me over these past months, and I will follow your lead in this. In all honesty, I will still have to search for clues to direct us where to look for leads. If the tendrils work the way I hope, it will make the search much easier. Without the locket, there is a distinct chance we will never find all of Tom's soul shards. Still… I leave it to you."

Both godson and godfather stared at the sword and the barely trembling locket.

Silence fell for several minutes before Harry looked over at Albus's understandingly sad smile and back at Sirius's closed eyes and pained expressions. Quietly, he spoke.

"Sirius… Sirius, please look at me."

Sirius opened his eyes slowly, they glistened in the lamp light.

"Sirius, my mum and dad sacrificed themselves to stop Tom from killing me. Your brother sacrificed himself to stop Tom. You could destroy the locket right now, none of us will stop you. You can destroy a portion of that madman's soul right now and partially avenge my parents and your brother. Or we could wait, and possibly fully avenge them by destroying him completely and maybe ensure no one else has a family member sacrifice their life to stop Tom. I am willing to wait, but I'll understand if you aren't willing to wait. I leave the choice to you and will support whatever you decide."

Sirius shook his head ruefully.

"Fine. We'll wait."

Sirius laughed ruefully. "Reg wouldn't have been happy if I went 'full Gryffindor' anyways. But, Albus, I expect you to do your best to find those clues as quickly as possible. When a lead comes up, we drop everything."

"Of course."

Sirius nodded. "Good. So, now what?"

Harry's stomach rumbled in response to the question.

It was a sedate group of four eating at a muggle Italian restaurant. The silence was oppressive.

"Okay, I have to ask" spoke Remus, breaking the silence.

The three others looked over at the man.

"How did you get Sirius's mother to be polite?"

Harry smiled slightly, as Sirius rolled his eyes. Albus looked at Harry, eyes full of interest.

"Well…"

Harry stared at the portrait of Walburga Black in fascination, having become accustomed to her bellowed insults. Walburga was great at screeching, but she still had nothing on an epic Dudley rant, so he blocked out her and Sirius sharing screamed insults. He had already found the locket he suspected was the darkest item in the house and came back to the portrait with the remaining two minutes or so he had before the pain in his eyes became too much. He was going to examine this piece of art while he could.

He had seen the magic of magical portraits before, so that wasn't what intrigued him. It was the wards. The portrait was covered in the distinctive cobwebs of House Elf wards. Except the cobwebs looked as if they had been piled on top of each other so thickly and overlapped so thoroughly that not a single iota of the portrait was unprotected. Aragog's brood could only wish to one day have webs this thick. Sadly, the pain started to become overwhelming, so he stopped looking at the magic.

"Kreacher, can I ask you something?"

The surly ancient House Elf grumbled under his breath. "Bad Master's Half Blood godson walks to ask Kreacher a question. Nasty brat thinks he is worthy of being in Mistress's presence. If she could she only…"

Before Sirius could yell at the House Elf, Harry decided to take Kreacher's tirade as his way of saying that he was listening.

"These wards on Mrs. Black's portrait are amazing. I didn't know one could put on so many layers while avoiding them conflicting with each other. You must have really loved your mistress to put so much effort into protecting her portrait. Out of curiosity, how many wards are there here?"

Kreacher paused in the middle of the tirade he had started, where he was using some rather inventive insults. As he paused, his wide eyes stared at Harry as if he hadn't truly yet looked at the boy. Though, Harry figured, it was likely he had probably never thought Harry had yet to prove himself worthy of being looked at.

"Why be Bad Master's nasty godson wanting to be knowing?"

Harry smiled as he looked at Walburga, who had also silenced herself and was staring down with a curious look in her eyes.

"Because I have seen House Elf wards before and have yet to see anything so… impressive. I don't know what these do, but I wouldn't be shocked to discover that there isn't a protection it doesn't have. I bet you could burn down the entire house, and your mistress's portrait would still be hanging there in the middle of the air. So, I just wanted to know how many wards are layered. Is it more than 200?"

Harry had spent enough time with Dobby and Jean (when he was in France) to have a good sense of how to stroke the ego of a House Elf. The key, he discovered, was to compliment their ability to care for those they considered family. Jean had appreciated Harry thanking him for food but became filled with immense joy and pride when he complimented how nicely the house was kept for Pierre. As he saw the look of pride form on the mean-spirited elf's face, he knew that he had gained a moment of peace. Which made him wonder if a similar technique could be used on the portrait.

Kreacher finally answered with pride and a (for him) friendly tone. "The Half Blood bastard underestimates Kreacher's love for Mistress. Kreacher applied the 497th ward this morning."

"You put 497 wards up on that…" Sirius began to speak in an angry tone.

"Sirius!" Harry spoke quickly, a stroke of inspiration coming to him. "Can you please put up a silencing spell, so Albus and Remus can't hear us?"

The man looked at his godson in confusion but nodded and cast the appropriate spell.

"Thanks. Now, I think its time we told your mother the truth."

Sirius's expression morphed into one of befuddlement. "The truth?"

"Yes, Sirius. I know you wanted to keep it private, but I'm sure you can trust your own mother. And Kreacher has certainly proven his loyalty to the Black Family."

Sirius's look of confusion increased in intensity. "Harry… what are you…"

"I'm sorry, Sirius, but if you won't tell her, then I will."

Harry then looked to the portrait. With her look of pure confusion, he found it amusing that he could finally see something Sirius had inherited from his mother.

"Mrs. Black, why do you think Sirius befriended Remus Lupin?"

When she responded, her tone was both derisive and tentative. "Because he is a disgrace to the name of Black, of course."

Harry nodded agreeably, causing Sirius to stare at his godson in shock.

"Yes, that is certainly what it would like from the outside, and Sirius cultivated that belief. Tell me, are you aware of the existence of an ancient ritual that will increase a wizard's power ten-fold if they manage to get a werewolf to willingly sacrifice their life for said wizard?"

Walburga's eyes widened in surprise.

Sirius yelled "HARRY!"

Harry put his hand up to quiet his godfather. "Sirius, Remus can't hear us right now. You can stop pretending for these few moments. Come on, your mother is clever enough to realize that your anger is all an act. If you were truly angry at her, you would simply command Kreacher to remove her portrait and he would have no choice but to obey."

Sirius's jaw snapped shut, as he stared at Harry and a thoughtful Walburga and Kreacher.

Harry turned back to Walburga. "I was surprised as well when I discovered the truth. Even after being sent to Azkaban, he came out determined to maintain the act of 'good friend'. But it makes sense when you think about it. Tell me, Mrs. Black, when given the choice between your own flesh and blood befriending a werewolf for friendship's sake or befriending a werewolf as a part of a plan to kill that werewolf while vastly increasing one's power, what sounds the most reasonable?"

Walburga paused and then smirked. "Of course, and my disowning him would further affirm the 'friendship' as real with the half breed. But… why hasn't he done the deed yet?"

Harry smiled in response. "Well, it would of course have to occur on the werewolf's birthday. And, obviously, one that is a magically significant number."

Walburga nodded. "So, likely every seventh birthday, or something along those lines. Of course! And he joined Gryffindor because, like a proper son of the House of Black, he knew that the half breed was a werewolf on sight. Everyone knows Gryffindor is the house for idiots, half breeds, and muggle lovers. Oh, my son is so clever! I knew I couldn't have truly raised a blood traitor like… wait! You are a half blood, and he named you his godson."

Harry shrugged. "People BELIEVE I am a half-blood. But my father was a Pureblood and yet everyone 'knows' it took him years to get my mother to agree to go on a date with him. From what you know of those born from muggles, do you think they would delay by even a day to pass up the chance to be with a Pureblood?"

"OF COURSE NOT! Foul harlots, every single one of them is a Scarlet Woman! So, are you saying your mother was… a pureblood?"

"Absolutely."

"Then why have I not heard of her?"

"What sort of pureblood family would hide their identity?"

Walburga smirked. "Ah, one of the lesser families that supported Grindelwald. I always thought that we would see some 'dead' lines re-emerge in a century or so. And Sirius, having been able to fool all the Black family, would certainly be able to discover the truth of your mother before letting his friend marry her or being willing to accept her child as his godson."

Walburga looked to her son with a face full of pride, which Harry was certain was a foreign experience for Sirius. "Sirius, I hadn't realized just how devious you were. You are a credit to the House of Black!"

Sirius stared at his mother, barely eking out a confused "Thanks?"

Harry spoke up. "Now, I'm going to have to end the silencing spell, so Remus and Albus don't get suspicious. If you wish, you can keep screaming at us. Though, it would certainly help in rebuilding Remus's trust if he was convinced that you had a 'change of heart' and now welcomed him into your home. The choice is, of course, in your wise hands."

Walburga smiled viciously. "Oh, I think I can ensure that half breed is made fully welcome to ensure the future superiority of my House. Kreacher will be polite as well."

Kreacher's smile matched that of his Mistress. "Kreacher will please Kreacher's mistress. Kreacher will even treat the half breed as if it is human."

Harry smiled and canceled the spell.

"So, Mrs. Black, your home is beautiful. Could you possibly share some of its history with me?"

"And a little bit later, the two of you arrived."

Albus had a bemused expression, while Remus's expression was one of thoughtful approval.

Sirius stared at the other two adults with disgust. "How can you not look upset by this? Harry said that I was going to kill you Remus, and then agreed with all my mother's pureblood dung! He even denied Lily's muggle heritage!"

Remus smiled. "Technically, you weren't going to kill me. You were going to have me volunteer to sacrifice myself to you on my birthday. Sorry, only for when my birthday was divisible by seven. I'm not doing that, by the way."

Albus chuckled. "I would also say that he wasn't subscribing to her philosophy. He was only presenting a hypothetical scenario and asked her what made the most sense. She filled in the details herself. I'm pleased that politics lessons have not gone to waste. Though, it probably wouldn't have worked on the real Walburga."

Sirius huffed. "Fine, but you still denied your heritage."

Harry smiled. "How?"

"You said you were a pureblood."

"Well, my blood is pure blood. There is no mud in it, nor is half blood and half something else. It's all blood."

"That's not what pureblood means!"

Harry laughed. "Sirius, I can hardly be at fault if your mother's portrait chooses to not ensure we are using the same meaning for words. Come on, Sirius, what are you so upset about?"

Sirius scowled and swirled his fork in his pasta. "You made my mother think I agree with her."

Harry frowned. "Sirius, your mother is… well, she's dead. That's just a magical item with her likeness. Agreeing with her portrait is like telling the Fat Lady the password to get into Gryffindor Tower. Even if the password was 'Gryffindor is the worst', there would be no point in arguing with the portrait. It would be like when we saw that joke parchment at Zonko's Joke Shop, the one that insulted anyone who tried to read it who wasn't the owner. I mean, arguing with your mother's portrait would be as pointless as arguing with the parchment when it insults you."

Sirius suddenly winced as Remus laughed lightly.

Harry looked to Remus. "What?"

Remus grinned broadly. "James used one of those parchments on Sirius back in our sixth year. Sirius argued loudly with it for nearly three hours in the common room. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen."

Harry began to laugh, only to hear Sirius grumble. "It was only two and a half hours."

Harry continued laughing loudly for another five minutes.