Author's Note:

Reviews and Comments: To loverofmuggles: Thank you for loving my take on this story. Thanks for loving my Remadora, I love them as well, and yes, we will see more of them. As to Cho, I want her to go far away too — soon! Thanks for the second review, I really appreciate it! Yes, Harry has noticed this about Cho and it should deter him! Sirius is very protective/overprotective, isn't he? I love that about him. Thank you! To Steelcode: Yes, Harry needs to figure out how to break up with Cho now. Let's see how our boy does. Yes, the locket will be destroyed soon. Thank you! To alix33: Cho definitely just wants to snog Harry and doesn't want him to hang out with his friends. It would be cool if Harry and Neville learned how to be Animagi together. Ha, maybe that's it, Remus hasn't thought about how cute Baby Lupin would be and that would change everything. LOL. Thank you! To scrappy8: Thank you! To Wolf's scream: Ha, it kind of would be a magical escape room, I guess. Harry is very friend-oriented so he would notice when Cho is forcing him to choose over who to spend time with. Thank you for saying Sirius is growing into his godfather role.

To Guardian of the Inheritance: Thank you! To Shamelessnweird: Thanks for grinning like Harry and loving it! To speedsONEandONLY: Cho is basically only using Harry for his name. Parseltongue did occur to them, but they were too determined to succeed without Harry's help. They fucked up. Ha, you think Ginny or Hermione will walk by when Harry breaks up with Cho and she'll think it's for one of them? Interesting. We shall see. To coloredwords: Thanks for loving my Harry. Tonks loves Hogwarts, but no, she doesn't want to live there full time. Harry is a Deamus shipper indeed, but no, he will not be swinging in that direction himself. He belongs with Ginny. Thank you!

To Guest: Thank you for saying you are totally "gobsmacked! This work is utterly amazing, stupendous, magnificent, and just bloody brilliant!" Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're loving Zee and also see her as the perfect match for Padfoot. He definitely deserves a nice loving relationship. Ginny is very mature over Cho, but also, she knows she has Harry in ways Cho doesn't which could boil down to it a bit. Thank you very much! To Claire Fraser: Thank you! Yes, Neville was quite cheeky with his question about how Harry is going to snog Cho when he has a Mandrake leaf in his mouth, wasn't he? Harry is figuring things out with his love life and needs some advice. I agree, Sirius and Remus needed some good bonding time. Thank you for saying I showed Dumbledore's age with him getting hit on the head. Yes, Sirius is developing a soft spot for Kreacher (not that he'll admit it). Thank you!

To riddermark: Thank you very much! I'm a dozen or so chapters ahead so updating fast works for me! Not to mention my Beta is a machine! To storp930: Thank you for saying I showed how the characters were dealing with Harry being in a relationship. Ginny is a bit jealous, of course, but she's also trying to be mature. Yes, this is a real issue women have growing up. LOL. Thank you! To Greaterthan84: It was completely unintentional boob comparison/juxtaposition between Ginny and Cho which made it hilarious to me when you pointed it out. LOL. Thank you! To Bigmike33321: Sorry that there's not enough magic in this story for your liking. Glad you're still enjoying it though. Thank you.

Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!

My posting schedule: Every Tuesday or Wednesday (usually the latter) and sometimes on the weekends.

Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT:

The One With Moody

Peter stared at the large snake, watching as it uncoiled itself slowly, moving around the other snake. The other snake, smaller and looking more than worse for wear, made him wince at the sight of it. Its skin was flaking, peeling, and shedding at a rapid rate. It was almost translucent. The eyes were a dark red and he watched as the large snake seemed to talk to it, hissing vehemently — and the smaller snake hissed back.

He knew that the Dark Lord resided in that smaller snake and as he watched the decaying flesh he couldn't help but hope that he would just fall apart completely; crumble before his very eyes and disintegrate into nothing.

He jolted when he heard Bella's laugh and he looked between the bars of the cage he was being held in to watch her step into the room.

"My Lord," she said reverently, bowing to the snake. She moved towards his cage, smirking at him. "Has Peter been keeping you company, my Lord?"

Peter recoiled back from her when she attempted to stroke the slice that she had left across his cheek and she grinned maliciously.

"Someone's afraid. Probably wise, Pettigrew." She dropped her hands and turned back to the snakes. "Abraxas is coming by today with fresh potions, my Lord, to help you recover your strength."

The small snake hissed at her and Peter knew that he was planting an image of some kind in Bellatrix's mind as a way of communicating with her, and it made him shiver.

"Don't worry, I have the perfect woman in mind for you." Bellatrix turned her gaze on Peter and smirked. "And Wormtail here is going to help me out in getting her here for you."

He was afraid to ask why they needed a woman here, but he was more afraid to ask what she needed of him in terms of getting the woman to the Dark Lord. He swallowed when she unlocked the cage and handed him the glass in her hand containing the disgusting mixture that he recognized by its smell as Polyjuice Potion.

"Drink up, Pettigrew. We are going on a reconnaissance date."

Peter knocked back the potion, grimacing at the taste as he felt his skin begin to bubble around him. A few minutes later he glanced in the mirror and saw that he had turned into a tall well muscled blond man that he didn't recognize.

Bellatrix was grinning at him. She tossed new clothes at him with a smirk. "Get dressed and meet me out front. We have a woman to spy on."

Peter pulled the shirt that she had given him over his head and sighed, his eyes on the two snakes. But he didn't speak. He just followed Bellatrix out in his new disguise, accepting his wand back, still completely unsure of what he was doing. But his biggest problem was that, he still didn't know how to make it out of this place alive.

And nothing had ever scared him more.

~ ASC ~

The next morning when Harry woke, he felt a bit anxious for the afternoon. The thought of actually destroying another Horcrux was exhilarating and terrifying. When he had destroyed the diary, he hadn't actually known what it was, but this time, he not only knew — but they were intentionally going to destroy it.

One more down, he thought.

He grabbed his Quidditch gear and hurried down to the Gryffindor changing rooms for practice. Wood was in full practice mode and Harry changed into his warm clothing before he started his run around the pitch. He did his usual five laps before starting up the stands, his broomstick across the top of his shoulders. The burn in his calf muscles hurt in a good way as he panted up and down the stairs. After he made it up and down all of the stands, he did one more slow jog around the pitch before he joined Fred and George in a slow stretch beneath the goal posts.

Fred grunted as he stretched. "I swear Wood makes us run like this because he can, the sick bastard."

Harry smirked at him. "I kind of look forward to it now. I always feel better after the workout."

"George! Harry's starting to channel Oliver, come quick!"

Harry snorted. "Admit it, you feel better too."

"Maybe a little," Fred said quietly. "But let's keep that between us. Besides, maybe you just like it because your new girlfriend likes your body." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at him as Harry blushed.

"No."

George smirked. "I think it's a definite yes. Is that not Chang sitting in the stands watching you over there?"

Harry squinted at the morning sun as he looked over to where George was pointing. Sure enough, Cho was sitting there with her friend Marietta. He waved at her and she waved back, grinning.

"Shut it."

Fred and George teased him a bit more about his new girlfriend before Wood called them to attention and started to practice with the Quaffle. Each player looked great on their new Nimbus 2001's and they flew around easily and gracefully as if the brooms had been personally made for each of them. When Wood released the Bludgers, Fred and George hurried forward to practice beating and Harry stuck with the Quaffle until Wood eventually released the Golden Snitch.

By noon, Wood finally called it quits and Harry marched over to where Cho was still sitting with Marietta. "Hi," he said, grinning at her.

Cho wrinkled her nose as he leaned in for a kiss. "Shower first, Harry!"

He only nodded as Cho and Marietta giggled. "I guess that's fair. Wait for me?"

She smiled at him and nodded so he made his way to the Gryffindor change rooms to shower and changed into comfortable blue jeans and a black jumper. Cho was waiting for him by herself in the stands when he came out twenty minutes later. She put his arm around her and snuggled into him before leaning in to kiss him softly.

"You smell nice," she said, nuzzling into his neck.

He smirked. "I didn't before?"

Cho only laughed and took his hand in hers as they walked back up to the castle. "Hardly. You were all sweaty. So, do you want to hang out after lunch?"

He kissed her quickly and grinned. "I can't today. I'm actually going home for the night."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Uncle Sirius needs me home for some big family meeting. I'll either be back late tonight or first thing tomorrow morning."

"Oh," she said looking rather disappointed. "I could go with you?"

Harry glanced at her in surprise. "What?"

"I could go home with you. Meet your father, and you know, we could spend some time together."

"Except that I have a big family meeting that I'm needed at home for."

She pouted. "Well, if you don't want to spend time with me then."

"Cho —"

But she had stormed off to the castle, ignoring his call and he shoved his hands into his pockets as he marched on. He really needed to figure out what he wanted from her. He made his way back up to Gryffindor Tower to put away his Quidditch gear.

Girls were hard to figure out, he thought, and sometimes he wasn't even sure if he completely wanted to understand them. He rolled his shoulders and continued his trek to Gryffindor Tower trying to figure out what he might have said wrong to make Cho storm off, but by the time he reached his room, he still had no idea.

Yeah, girls were hard to figure out, he thought.

~ ASC ~

Sirius's motorbike came to a stop at the quaint little house in Portnahaven and let out a slow breath. He probably should have written first, given the fact that Dumbledore had warned him about how paranoid and crotchety the old coot still was, but he had been itching for a ride. He turned to smile at Zee, her arms wrapped tightly around him from her spot on the BSA M20 that she had graciously let him drive despite the winter temperatures, but the light snow had melted and it was surprisingly a little warm out, and he had been itching to take the bike out.

"Are you sure that you want to be here?"

"Kind of late to be asking me now, isn't it?" she said, her voice teasing.

Sirius simply grinned and kissed her lips. "Stay here for a minute."

He hopped off the bike, wand out, and knocked on the mailbox at the road. Sure enough, a loud booming voice announcing intruders and demanding that they leave at once echoed around him. He muffled it and carefully sent his Patronus up to the house.

Not two minutes later, the front door banged open and the man he was looking for stood there. He was leaning on his cane, his wooden leg wearing a fuzzy slipper like his other foot. His magical eye moving suspiciously in his weathered face. It fell on Sirius for a long moment and then he grunted, gesturing for him to come inside.

Sirius took Zee's hand in his and they stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. "Moody, long time no see."

Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody only grunted before he poured himself a glass of Glenfiddich. "Your trial, I believe. I am sorry it took so long — I was just doing my job."

Sirius nodded. "I know and I know it wasn't your job to make sure that I had a trial, Moody, so all is forgiven."

Moody only nodded and took a long drink of his Scotch. "Who's the bird?"

"Zahira Zacarias," Zee said pleasantly, extending her hand. "I'm a Magizoologist and an Agent of the DRCMC, and most certainly, not a bird."

Moody only grunted in response.

"How's retirement been treating you?" Sirius asked, taking Zee's hand in his own and tucking it under his arm.

"Bored to tears, Black. Do you have any idea how fucking boring it is to sit at home with nothing but your bollocks in your hand?"

Sirius grinned at him. "Well now, I was hoping you might be feeling that way." At Moody's look, he grinned. "Interested in getting back in on some action?"

Moody took another drink of his scotch. "I've been retired for six months, Black; I don't think action is quite my cup of tea anymore."

Sirius only smirked at him. "Not your cup of tea no, but surely it's your glass of scotch."

Moody smirked at that. "What do you want, Black?"

"You know Pettigrew was finally caught last year and sentenced to Azkaban and then he and Lestrange both escaped prison this past summer?"

Moody nodded. "Been saying for years that having Dementors as guards was bullshit. Never could trust those soul suckers."

"We think that we know who was behind the breakout."

"I didn't realize that you'd joined the Auror Department, Black."

"I haven't."

Moody only raised an eyebrow, sipping his Scotch. "I still think that I could have made you and Potter into fantastic Hit Wizards if you hadn't been so hell-bent on joining the Order."

Sirius smiled at him. "But you still trained us like Aurors, didn't you? What was it you always yelled at us? 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!'" At Moody's shrug and smirk, he continued. "As I was saying, we think that we know who helped orchestrate the escape and we have evidence that this person is using the escaped prisoners to help in a quest to find Voldemort and to bring him back to power."

Moody snorted. "Well, now, it's not like he actually died, did he? Always said that bastard would find a way back into the world."

Sirius nodded. "It's just hearsay, Moody. We know that the Ministry of Magic isn't going to be assisting us on this, Fudge is too much of a bloody coward and frankly there are some parts of this that I don't want the world knowing. It's too dangerous if it was leaked to the general public."

Both of Moody's eyes stayed on Sirius for a long moment. "You coming to me for help, boy?"

"Best damn Auror there ever was," Sirius said, grinning from ear to ear. "Wouldn't mind a helping a hand from a professional?"

Moody knocked back the scotch in his hand. "What do you know, Black?"

Sirius' eyes sobered. "Ever heard of a Horcrux, Moody?"

Moody's eye widened almost as large as his magical one. "Well, fuck buggering shit arse head and hole! Are you saying what I think you're saying, Black?"

Sirius only shrugged. "Unless you're in, Mad-Eye, I can't tell you anything else."

Moody slammed his empty glass down on the table. "Fuck me! Yes, I'm goddamn in. A bloke can't even retire in peace!"

Sirius snorted. "Admit it, I just made your whole fucking day."

"Piss off, Black," Moody said angrily as he grabbed his cloak off the coat rack. "Show me what you've got so far."

Sirius only grinned and passed him a piece of parchment with the address of Grimmauld Place on it. "Meeting's at seven."

"Did Albus reform the Order?" Moody asked, memorizing the address before he burned the paper in his hand.

"No. Lupin and I started this op. It's called Operation FUVP."

At Moody's look of confusion, Zee filled him in. "Operation Fuck Up Voldemort's Plans."

Moody snorted and offered a small smile, which only made his scarred mouth look all the more terrifying. "Always were a smart-arsed little prick," he muttered, smirking slightly. "But I like the name. I'll be there for seven. And Black?" When Sirius turned to look at him from his spot near the front door, he smirked. "Better be some damn good scotch waiting for me when I arrive."

Sirius only smirked at him. "I know my audience, Alastor. See you tonight."

When they climbed back on the bike, Zee rested her chin on his shoulder. "Well, he's an interesting character."

Sirius chuckled. "Best damn Auror there ever was, seriously. Having him on our side can only help things. He put more dark witches and wizards behind bars than anyone. He knows what to look for; what to look behind and beyond. He knows how they think. If anyone can help us dig up these trophies, he can."

Zee kissed the side of his neck. "Well, drive on you smart-arsed little prick… we need to buy some scotch for tonight."

"We both know my prick isn't little, darling," he said cheekily.

Zee pinched him in the side and he yelped. "Prat. Shut up and drive."

He grinned at her and started the engine. Having Moody on their side made him feel a bit better. But he still wasn't keen on the idea that they were going to need Harry to open the locket. It was bad enough that this prophecy claimed that Harry would have to destroy Voldemort in the end. He wanted to handle the rest; do what he could to prevent Harry from facing the bastard alone.

The bike zoomed along the winding road of the Scottish cliffs and he sighed. One step at a time, Sirius, he told himself, one step at a time.

~ ASC ~

Harry took a seat at the Gryffindor table next to Ginny after putting his Quidditch things away and she turned to grin widely at him.

"Hi, Harry! How was practice?"

"Good," he said reaching for a chicken leg as Ron passed him the buttery rolls. "Thanks," he told him, filling his plate. Practice had made him incredibly hungry. "Where's Hermione?"

Ron shrugged. "Not sure. She said that she was going to the library to study, but I couldn't find her in there. She's always disappearing."

Harry frowned, leaning in to tell Ron, Ginny, and Neville about him going home for the night.

Neville's eyes widened. "You're going to help destroy one? Really destroy one?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

"Wicked," Ron said, his eyes gleaming. "Wish we were going with you! You'll have to let us know how it goes."

Harry only grinned back and finished his lunch. He hurried up to Gryffindor Tower to grab a jacket before he grabbed the map from his trunk and quickly murmured, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' and searched for Hermione's name. He was surprised to see that she was in the orchestra room on the main floor. He closed the map and put it in his pocket before making his way down to see her.

When he opened the door he could hear the tentative notes of the piano. Her eyes were on the music in front of her and he could see the frustration there. Nothing annoyed Hermione more than when she wasn't able to successfully learn something. She was determined to be the best at everything she attempted. He closed the door behind him and sat next to her on the bench.

"Having trouble?"

"Harry!" she said in surprise, "I didn't hear you come in. How did you find me?"

"The map," he said with a grin. "It sounds like you're progressing a bit."

She shrugged. "I guess. It's hard to teach yourself."

Harry's eyebrow rose. "Did you ask Uncle-Professor Lupin yet? I told you that he plays, and you already know that he's a great teacher!"

Hermione shook her head, her bushy curls hiding her face as she looked down at her hands. "No. I think that I can teach myself anyway, it's not like I need someone."

"Hermione… why won't you ask Uncle Rem?"

She sighed and her dark eyes met his. "Harry, there's something… there's something about Professor Lupin that I think you should know."

Harry gulped. The seriousness in her face had him worried. Ever since Snape had assigned the chapter on werewolves he had wondered how long it was going to take his brilliant friend to figure it out. He had hoped that Hermione wasn't caught up in the prejudice of it, either. He had thought better of her.

"What's that?"

She let out a slow breath. "When Professor Snape taught us, I… I suspected then and…I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how you'd react. I know how important he is to you."

"Just say it, Hermione."

Her eyes met his and she gasped. "You already know!"

"Of course I already bloody-well know!" he insisted, glaring at her. "They told me when I was a child! Uncle Sirius wanted me to understand and Uncle Rem was too scared for me to know, but he told me."

She was pale now. "Harry! That's so dangerous! I know that he's a great teacher and a nice man, but he turns into a monster!"

Harry jumped up off the piano bench and glared at his friend. "The only monster I know is the girl standing in this room."

"Harry!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm when he tried to turn away. "That's not fair!"

Harry whirled on her, his eyes flashing in anger. "No, what's not fair is that you read the word werewolf and automatically assumed monster! You don't understand anything, Hermione! He's not a monster! He's one of the most amazing men I know! He's been the best dad to me and the best uncle and he cares more deeply about anyone than you can possibly understand! Do you think that he doesn't hate himself for what happened to him? He didn't choose this life! He was bitten when he was four years old! Four years old, Hermione! He was a kid and he didn't deserve that! His whole life everyone has turned him away; stopped him from finding work just because of it! Tonks is the best thing to ever happen to him and sometimes he still looks at her like he doesn't understand why she loves him and that's just horrible! He deserves to be loved more than anyone else I know!"

"Harry, I'm sorry, I didn't…I like Professor Lupin."

Harry only glared at her. "But he's a werewolf and you're too afraid to have piano lessons with him."

Harry slammed the door behind him as he stormed his way up to McGonagall's office, knocking on the door a little louder than he had planned on.

McGonagall only raised an eyebrow at him when he came inside. "Potter?"

Harry's fists clenched at his sides. "I'm ready to use the Floo now, Auntie Minnie."

McGonagall watched him for a moment. "Sit down, Harry."

He sighed but took a seat in the chair, his eyes widening in surprise when she pulled out a tin of biscuits and passed one to him. "Have a biscuit."

He smirked at her and accepted one. "Thanks."

"What has you in such a tizzy?"

"I hate it when people are bigots! They just… they don't understand things and I don't get why it's so hard to look past things and see people for who they are." At McGonagall's blank look, he sighed. "Hermione knows that Uncle Moony is a werewolf."

"Ah," McGonagall said, nodding.

Nyx moved from her spot by the fire and rested her head on Harry's knee. McGonagall passed him a second biscuit which he accepted as he reached down to stroke the cat behind her ears.

"Did she say that she was going to tell everyone?"

"No, but —"

"— Did she say that she doesn't want him to teach here anymore?"

"No, but —"

"— Harry, you might have jumped to conclusions then."

He sighed. "I didn't! She got a piano for Christmas and she wants to learn how to play and I told her that Uncle Moony can teach her, she just has to ask him — and she got all weird about it. And now she says that she can't ask him — and I know it's because of the werewolf thing. She said that he turns into a monster!"

McGonagall nodded. "Well, I'm sure that she has a lot to think about then. Miss Granger is an extremely bright young witch and I have every belief that she will make the right decision for herself. Do you trust her, Harry?"

"Of course I do! She's one of my best friends!"

McGonagall smiled. "So, trust her now."

Harry nodded, accepting a third biscuit. "You're pretty wise, Auntie Minnie."

She smirked at him. "It's from putting up with Sirius all these years."

Harry grinned, stroking Nyx as he spoke. "Can I use the Floo now?"

"Absolutely. I'll see you later tonight."

He nodded, patting the growing tiger on the head and smiling when she moved to nuzzle McGonagall's hand. He loved how affectionate and protective Nyx was. He did notice though that outside of himself, McGonagall, and Sirius, the only other person Nyx was affectionate towards was Dumbledore. She was going to make a great guard tiger, he thought. Not to mention that he found it amusing the way the students would watch her warily when she prowled around the classroom. She followed McGonagall almost everywhere and Harry knew that McGonagall loved it. Give her a few more months and she would be a real force to be reckoned with.

Just like her owner, he thought with a grin.

He grabbed a handful of Floo powder before calling out 'Lupin Cottage' and disappearing into the green flames. He stumbled out of the fireplace, smiling when he saw paint cans all over the place and drop cloths over all the furniture.

Remus stepped out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. "Harry, come in, come in. Ignore the mess, Dora and I are doing some painting."

"Are you painting everything?"

"Pretty much," Remus said with a smile. "This place needs a good freshening up and re-painting everything makes it ours I think. But don't worry, your room will stay the same."

Harry nodded at him and moved to sit at the kitchen table.

Remus squeezed his shoulder lightly. "You okay, little Prongs?"

Harry shrugged. "Girls are confusing."

Remus chuckled and took a seat across from him. "You can say that again. And you know, the older you get, I think the harder they are is to figure them out."

He smirked. "That's not very reassuring, Uncle Moony."

"It's a fact of life, my son. Cho giving you a hard time?"

"Cho, Hermione… it's like girls just decided to be weird one day."

Remus chuckled. "Let's start with Hermione. What's up with her?"

Harry shrugged and sighed simultaneously making his uncle laugh. "She knows that you're a werewolf."

Remus' eyes widened in surprise. "Well, she's very intelligent. How long has she known?"

"Since Snape assigned us the chapter."

"She's upset that you didn't tell her, I presume?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. She got a piano for Christmas from her parents and she was telling me how happy she was and how excited she is to learn how to play and I suggested that she ask you to maybe help her since you play. She didn't ask you and now I know that she didn't because she knows that you're a werewolf and… it's so dumb, Uncle Moony! You're the best teacher there is!"

Remus smiled sympathetically. "And I thank you for that gross overstatement, but that's a pretty normal reaction, little Prongs." At Harry's glare, he only shrugged. "People hear the word werewolf and they automatically think monster. It's a fact and it is true whether you and Sirius want to accept it or not. I do become a monster three nights a month, Harry and… that scares me, too, but it's part of who I am, not what I am, and it's taken me a really long time to accept that about myself."

"I don't care what you say, Uncle Moony, you'll never be a monster in my eyes."

Remus smiled at him. "I love you very much, Harry. I love that you want to stick up for me and my reputation, but it all comes down to the fact that if my students are frightened of me, I won't be able to stay at Hogwarts and teach."

Harry looked horrified by his. "No! I'll talk to her! She won't tell anybody, I know her! It took her awhile to even come to me!"

He nodded. "I know you will and if you can bring her around, tell her that I would be honoured to help her learn the piano if she would like to learn. I haven't played in a very long time."

Harry grinned at him. "I will."

"Now, best friend out of the way; what's going on with Cho?"

Harry sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair making it stick up everywhere even worse than usual and Remus snorted. "What?"

"For someone who hasn't had James in his life, you have so many of his little habits."

Harry grinned. "What?"

"The hair… making it stick up everywhere. James used to do it when he was trying to impress a girl or when girls, namely your mother, were stressing him out."

Harry flushed and pat his hair back down. "You already know about Cho, Uncle Padfoot told me last night on our mirror-call."

Remus merely raised an eyebrow. "What do I already know?"

"That I'm thinking about breaking up with her."

"Ah," Remus said, tapping his fingers on the table.

Harry explained how she had acted and how he didn't understand how she wanted to meet Sirius or to come home with him when they never talked or did anything really other than snog, how she never wanted to sit with his friends or do anything with any of his friends, and how as much as he liked to snog her — he wasn't really sure he liked her that much anymore.

"I'm a terrible person, aren't I?"

"No," he said with a smile. "You're not a terrible person. Attraction comes and goes and sometimes it is only physical and when it disappears you aren't always attracted to the rest of the person. Personality and attitude define a person in ways that physical looks don't. Look at Tonks, she's beautiful, but it's not because she's beautiful that I love her. She's funny and she's klutzy and she's smart and brave and she makes me laugh and she makes me happy. If she was only beautiful, do you think that I would still be with her if we didn't have all of those other things in common too?"

Harry nodded in understanding. "No, I get it."

Remus smiled and squeezed Harry's arm in reassurance. "You think about that and then you talk to Cho and you decide what you want to do."

"Thanks, Uncle Moony."

"Anytime, Harry. Now, come on; we should get going to Headquarters. Sirius and Zee should be on their way back from seeing Moody by now."

"Moody? Wasn't that the name of the Auror who put Sirius in Azkaban?"

"One of them, yes. He's a good man, Harry. It wasn't his fault that Sirius ended up there without a trial. He was just part of the group of Aurors and Hit Wizards who arrested him. Hopefully you'll meet him tonight if Sirius and Zee were successful. Grab onto my arm tightly now, we're going to Apparate."

Harry grumbled at that. He hated side Apparation as it always felt like he was being pulled in too many directions. He couldn't wait until he could Apparate by himself. But he took his uncle's arm once they were outside and past the wards of the cottage and then they disappeared, arriving a few seconds later in the quiet street of Claremont Square. He rushed Harry up the steps as Number Twelve appeared and they stepped in through the front door.

Kreacher appeared in the hall upon seeing them and informed them there would be tea set up soon in the kitchen. Harry followed his father down the hall and into the kitchen, his eyes on the chalkboard, re-reading the timeline and the stuff about Horcruxes.

"You've added nothing new?"

Remus shook his head. "No, nothing yet. We've just been spending time on the locket. Sirius and Dumbledore have been working to see if it's possible to destroy the Horcrux without destroying the object it has been cased in."

"Why?"

"Well, the locket is quite a historical object for starters; one of the last known artefacts of the Slytherin family. It would be a shame for it to be destroyed. But we haven't been lucky and Sirius decided that he would rather see the Horcrux be destroyed than keep it around too much longer. We all agreed with this sentiment. We still have to find the others as it is."

Harry nodded, sitting on the kitchen table, his feet on the bench as he continued to read over the words. "I bet he found something belonging to Hufflepuff when he worked at Borgin and Burkes."

"We think so, too, but we don't know what it could have been. There is no record of it."

Harry frowned at that. "There has to be somewhere. What about the house elf?"

Remus looked startled by this. "The house elf?"

"Yeah, the one who supposedly killed her mistress, the heir to Hufflepuff. Did anyone ever bother talking to her?"

"I don't know, Harry. You can ask Professor Dumbledore tonight as he is the one who told us of the memory."

Harry nodded, feeling like he had come up with something to help even if it wasn't much in the overall scheme of things.

Remus took the time to have Harry work on his Patronus which was now taking on less of a smoky shape and becoming more defined. Without a Boggart or an actual Dementor to work on, Harry was making his Patronus even stronger, but the sight of it was still quite majestic. He watched his nephew in awe as the stag, dog, and wolf surrounded him in a protective circle of three. It still amazed him that his Patronus was essentially the Marauders, the three men who loved him most in the world. He had never heard of a Patronus taking on a level such as this and he wondered what it meant; what it could mean in terms of how powerful Harry was.

The Marauders Patronus was still circling Harry when Sirius and Zee stepped into the kitchen, closely followed by McGonagall.

"Merlin!" McGonagall exclaimed, her eyes wide as she watched the animals protect Harry. "What on earth… is that… are they… a Patronus?"

Remus grinned widely and took a seat on the bench next to Harry's feet, who was still sitting on the top of the kitchen table. "It is Harry's Patronus, yes. A stag, a dog, and a wolf that circle and protect him. It's quite extraordinary."

McGonagall was beaming at him. "That is absolutely amazing, Harry!"

He grinned as Sirius beamed at him as well. "They're becoming more solid now."

"As amazing and wonderful as your charm work is, Harry, I think it would be better served if you weren't sitting on the dinner table," Zee said with a smirk, her eyebrow rising as she moved her eyes from the table to the bench at his feet.

Sirius smirked and sat next to his godson on the table. "Table's quite comfy, Zee," he said as he put his arm around Harry. "I am so proud of you. Look at that charm — it's incredible."

Zee merely sighed. "Off the table, boys, I don't want to say it again."

Harry grinned as Sirius immediately slid down onto the bench, tugging Harry down with him.

"Thank you," Zee said with a smile, leaning in to kiss both of them on the cheek as McGonagall simply grinned at her.

"About time someone puts those boys to rights," she muttered making Zee laugh.

"Did you guys talk to Moody?" Harry asked.

"We did," Sirius told him as Harry swept his Patronus away. "He should be here at seven."

Tonks came in next, moving to kiss Remus before ruffling Harry's hair and sitting next to him. "I heard that you have a girlfriend named Cho Chang and have been snogging her all over the castle. Spill."

Harry blushed and smirked at her. "I am allowed to have some secrets you know."

Tonks merely scoffed at this and poked him in the ribs. "Not from me! Start talking, mister."

Harry grinned at her and told her of how he had asked her out as Sirius turned to talk to McGonagall. A few minutes later, Bill came in with an older man with a wooden leg, weathered scarred face, and a creepy large blue magical eye that seemed to follow everyone around the room and Dumbledore followed behind a few moments later.

Sirius stood up to get everyone's attention and smiled. "Hello everyone! As you can see, tonight is a little bit different from our previous meetings as my son has been invited to attend. I know that he's only thirteen and that most of you are probably wondering why he was even asked to come tonight, but Prongslet and I have one important rule in our house — we don't lie to each other."

Bill nodded at that. "It's nice to see you, Harry."

Sirius placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "Harry, this is Alastor Moody. He's a retired Auror from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but he trained your Dad and I during the first war. Alastor, my godson, Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you, Sir," Harry said politely as the man's blue magical eye spun around in his head.

"Potter," he said in greeting before turning his scarred face on Sirius. "Where's my scotch, Black?"

Sirius smirked and summoned a bottle of Glenfiddich over to him and poured Moody a glass along with everyone else at the table. Moody examined it critically, checking for spells and hexes and poisons before he finally deemed it acceptable and took a sip. Harry was pleased to get a glass himself, beaming at Sirius who only smirked at him when he took a drink of it and then proceeded to choke and gag at the taste. He simply pushed the glass away in disgust. Sirius gave him a cup of tea and Harry only stared at him. He had done that on purpose, he thought, and he had to give him credit; that was one way to make sure Harry didn't drink.

"Now, as all of you are aware, this is our small group who are hunting down the Horcruxes that Voldemort has created. Moony, you want to give a quick summary to Alastor since he's new to join us?"

Remus nodded, smiling at Sirius before he quickly explained about the Horcruxes, starting with the discovery of the diary which had opened the Chamber of Secrets, to Regulus Black and the locket.

Moody's magical eye was reading the chalkboard wall as he seemed to be processing all of this critically. Harry moved over to sit next to Dumbledore while Remus explained everything to Moody.

"Sir, can I ask you a question?"

"You have just done so, but I can allow a second one."

Harry flushed at that. "Sir, I wondered, that house elf, the one who poisoned her mistress; did anyone ever find her or talk to her about what happened? Uncle Moony said that it was deemed an accident based on her being older, but they thought it was strange otherwise."

"Very perceptive of you, Harry," Dumbledore said kindly, taking a sip of his scotch. "She was accused of murder despite her innocence and they did claim that it was accidental, but she had still killed a witch, a great crime for a house elf. She was sentenced and executed many years later."

Harry's face fell. "I thought maybe if someone had spoken to her, they might have known what it was that Riddle was so interested in."

Dumbledore smiled at him, his blue eyes twinkling. "Ah, but I believe I do know."

"What?"

Dumbledore nodded, tapping his fingers against his glass of scotch. "I went to her execution myself just last week."

"Last — she was only just executed now?"

"Oh, yes. She was imprisoned for many years by her own kind; not allowed to work, which for a house elf is a punishment worse than death. She was sentenced to fifty years, but was finally allowed execution due to her failing health. I attended her execution myself and was given the opportunity to speak with her and I examined her memories from that day."

Harry grinned at him. "And what did she know, Sir?"

"Miss Smith had two items of important historical significance: A locket, originally belonging to Salazar Slytherin, and a small golden cup with two finely wrought handles that was said to have belonged to Helga Hufflepuff herself," Dumbledore said with a smile. "And when Smith was killed, the cup and the locket had both mysteriously disappeared."

"Riddle took them. He poisoned Smith and stole them."

"Not quite," Dumbledore said. "It was the elf, Hokey, who poisoned her mistress, but she was forced into it by ways of the Imperius Curse and she didn't know what she was doing. But yes, I do believe that it was Riddle who stole the cup and the locket. It does seem to fit his love of trophies rather well, doesn't it?"

"What about a cup?" Bill asked, leaning in to Dumbledore and Harry.

"The cup of Helga Hufflepuff," Harry supplied. "We think it may also be a Horcrux."

Bill used his wand to add it to the list. "Finding these pieces isn't going to be easy that's for sure."

Sirius slipped out of the room for a moment as Remus continued to fill Moody in on the timeline on the wall. Zee slid a plate of fruit in front of Harry, smiling kindly at him.

"Eat some of that; it will tide you over until dinner."

Harry smiled gratefully at her and helped himself to a piece of pineapple. It was rather nice having her take care of him, he thought.

Sirius came back inside with a black box in his hands and placed it on the table. "You understanding everything, Mad-Eye?"

Moody snorted. "I lost my eye, not my brain."

Harry snorted and quickly sobered when Zee elbowed him lightly.

Sirius opened the box and carefully pulled out the ornate locket. "My brother found this in a seaside cave where Voldemort had once spent time as a child, torturing and bullying young orphans around his own age. It was protected by Inferi, by a blood spell, and by a potion that forced you to relive your worst memories and greatly weakened one's physical and magical strength. Our family house elf, Kreacher, took Regulus to this cave and retrieved the locket that Voldemort had used Kreacher to put there. As you can see, it once belonged to the Slytherin family. The jewels, the fancy S on the front; it is a historical item."

"We had hoped to be able to preserve the locket, but the darkness of the Horcrux inside of it has made it impossible to do so," Zee said carefully, urging Harry to eat more fruit by nudging at the plate.

Harry did so as he stared at the locket, still a bit shocked that his godfather was letting him stay here; letting him help in this momentous task.

"We have discovered that there are two known ways to destroy a Horcrux through Basilisk venom, as my son discovered in the Chamber of Secrets, and through Fiendfyre. This also extends to the Sword of Godric Gryffindor because Harry killed the Basilisk with it therefore adding Basilisk venom to the sword's enchantments," Sirius continued. "Albus, Remus, and I attempted to destroy the locket last week, but we were not successful because we need to open the locket to destroy it, and that can only be done by a Parselmouth."

Harry pushed the fruit tray aside and stood up. "What's going to happen when I open it, Uncle Padfoot? Will another memory come out?"

"Of a young Tom Riddle? No, I don't believe so. The diary was unique to that. But, I imagine what's inside isn't going to be much better," Sirius said honestly.

Moody stood up, moving towards the locket. "You've theorized that he's built seven, but have you checked the Horcrux inside?"

Sirius stared at Moody in confusion. "Checked it how?"

Moody rolled his eyes and pulled out his wand, pointing it at the locket. The locket pulsed and shook for a moment before a soft gold rose up from it. The gold smoke moved to form a silhouette of what looked like a puzzle piece.

Remus quickly sketched it down. "What does that mean, Mad-Eye?"

Moody stared at them. "It means that that locket holds about sixteen percent of a human soul which means when he made it, he had five soul pieces already. Also, see how the puzzle piece glides around and glimmers in the shape of something?" At everyone's nod, he continued, "Each Horcrux holds a percentage of his soul and the final one will reside in his body, a tiny spark of life that has been flayed alive too many times to even really be there."

"What does that mean, Sir?" Harry asked, trying not to flinch when Moody's creepy magical eye landed on him.

"It means that if we can form this spell before we destroy each Horcrux, we can zero in on making sure that we've found every last one. If you kill that bastard before we've found them all, he'll only come back and we definitely don't want that."

Dumbledore nodded, smiling at Moody. "An excellent spell, Alastor, thank you."

"Also, your logic is a little flawed, Albus. If he wanted to use the importance of the number seven than he made six Horcruxes; seven pieces of his soul, but one piece has to stay inside of him."

"Yes, you are correct, Alastor. I thank you for clarifying that," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Remus handed Sirius the sword of Gryffindor and everyone slowly backed away from the kitchen table to stand against the walls. Kreacher came into the kitchen again, pulling on his ears nervously as Sirius and Harry approached the locket. Sirius nodded at his son and Harry swallowed slowly, trying to think like a snake and when he asked the locket to open, a low hissing erupted from his mouth.

The locket sprung open with a roar of sound and Harry jumped back. The woman who's shadowed silhouette had dark hair, sallow skin, and dark eyes. It was evident that she had once been very beautiful, but now looked washed out and rather scary looking. Her hands were on her hips as she stared menacingly down at Sirius.

"I raised you better, boy! You are a disgrace to this family! A disgrace to the name of Black!" The image shifted to a young boy, shackled to the wall as the Cruciatus Curse was placed on him and a sharp whip hit his back over and over again, blood flying.

Sirius faltered only for a moment as the voice grew louder, surrounding him, bringing him back to his childhood.

"You are a traitor! You are no son of mine! Crucio!"

"Uncle Padfoot!" Harry exclaimed, grabbing his father's arm.

Sirius looked at him, his eyes haunted before they cleared, looking at Harry with love before he swung the sword up into his hand and stabbed the image of his mother; swinging the sword back around and pushing the tip directly into the locket. An ethereal scream echoed through the room sending shivers down everyone's spine before the locket erupted in green smoke and exploded in a shower of sparks. The locket fell back upon the table, open and burnt black.

Sirius was breathing heavily and Harry was still holding his arm. He turned and tugged Harry into his arms, resting his chin on the top of his boy's head. "Another one bites the dust."

Harry smirked into his godfather's shoulder. "And another one gone, another one bites the dust."

Sirius grinned and turned to face everyone else in the room, his arm still around his son. "Well, see now, that was a piece of cake."

Remus snorted. "Oh yeah, real simple, Padfoot. You all right?"

Sirius nodded, shrugging. "Never better."

Zee moved around Remus to kiss Sirius softly, wrapping her arms around him from the opposite side of where Harry was. "That was a bit more than a piece of cake."

Sirius shrugged it off, but let her hold him. "Well, now that you've all met my dear mum; let's move onto how to find the next one, shall we?"

Remus nodded, clearing his throat as everyone moved to sit back at the table. He knew the last thing that Sirius would want to discuss at the moment was what had just been witnessed with his mother. Dumbledore reached for the locket as he and Moody began to examine the burnt edges, speaking quietly about the intensity of the soul piece that had resided there.

"Professor Dumbledore says that the cup of Helga Hufflepuff is definitely one, but we have no idea where it is," Harry said to his father, reaching for some more fruit.

He looked up in surprise when Kreacher popped his ugly head between him and Sirius and hugged Sirius fiercely.

"Master Sirius has fulfilled his promise to Kreacher. Kreacher did not fail Master Regulus. Kreacher is sorry his mistress made him chain up the young master. Kreacher had to do what his mistress said. Kreacher is yours to do with as you wish, Sir. Kreacher will not disobey. Kreacher is honoured to serve Master Sirius and young Master Harry in any capacity for the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black."

Sirius glanced at Kreacher in surprise before he cleared his throat. "Er, you're welcome, Kreacher. Perhaps we could have some dinner?"

Kreacher nodded eagerly and hurried over to finish preparing the meal he had started before the Horcrux destroying brigade had taken over.

Zee smiled at Sirius, gently brushing a piece of his hair behind his ear before turning her attention to the room. "We also strongly suspect the signet ring of Salazar Slytherin."

Sirius nodded. "Again though, discovering where he could have hidden them is the problem."

Moody took a long drink of scotch, leaning back in his seat. His scarred mouth savouring the liquid before he swallowed. "Have you checked the shack?"

Dumbledore looked at Moody in surprise. "The Gaunt house?"

Moody nodded. "I remember that murder in Little Hangleton, Albus. Aurors were all over the damn place trying to figure out what drove Morfin Gaunt to do it. The Muggles believed it was this caretaker, a Veteran from the big Muggle War of the 1940s, but we all knew that the man was innocent. It was the Avada Kedavra that had killed them; that much was obvious, but it was a big mystery to the Muggles. But I remember that shack, sitting nearby. The Gaunts had dead snakes nailed to the fence, to the door. It was quite disgusting. My father used to talk about it being one of those unsolved cases that ate at him. He used to bring the file home and talk the case over aloud, trying to make sense of it. The Gaunt place has never been torn down."

Remus looked at Moody in interest. "No one's ever tried to take over the land after all these years?"

Moody shook his head. "Not a soul. Now, knowing what we do about the Dark Lord and his desire to keep these trophies of his hidden and there's this whole property that belonged to his mother's family just sitting there… I'd say it's a pretty damn good place to start."

Tonks grinned at him. "You're quite brilliant, Moody, do you know that? You were always my favourite instructor. Dawlish took over your class."

Moody snorted. "That dunderhead is teaching at the Academy?"

Tonks shrugged. "Yes, he's running the original training sessions to get recruits ready to take the tests to become an A1."

"And you? Have you learned anything from what I've taught you, Tonks?"

She smiled at him. "I'm an A2 now. But I hope to have logged in enough cases and hours by August to apply for an A3 position. Maybe you could give me some pointers? It'll be great to have you back again, Sir."

Moody snorted. "Keep your wand out of your back pocket and always remember constant vigilance!" He turned back to his scotch. "Now, when would you like to make a trip to Little Hangleton to see if I'm right?"