AN: Hey! I know, I have been busy doing nothing it seems. The update you guys got a little while ago was because I noticed some inconsistency in my writing. So, I got this out for you as an apology. I have been stuck in a rut for this story, so I might not work on it until inspiration slaps me in the face and demands I work. I am fully expecting a guest to review with the name Inspiration and slap me and tell me to work. Anyway, next on schedule is Luci, so I'm off to work on that. Hey, there might be a chapter of that at the beginning of next month (no promises). Welp, I've rambled for long enough, so I'll let you get on with it.

I own nothing but a candle. Would you light it? (HAHAHA RENT references!)

Giada Draven, out!

Soon, Potionem and Dumbledore put together a plan to search for the final horcruxes. The headmaster believed Voldemort would have seven, seeing as it is a significant magical number. That would leave two, and the latest was thought to be his snake Nagini. Harry could confirm, since he had seen the snake before and could feel the presence of Voldemort's soul on it. Sadly, he didn't get a chance to kill it because he was under strict watch by the man himself at the time. The last one, Dumbledore thinks, is a ring that belonged to Voldemort's mother's family. The Gaunts, the last traceable lines of Salazar Slytherin.

The two decided that no one besides those who had been there would know about Harry being a creep. And they would wait for the rest of the horcruxes to be destroyed before confronting Voldemort, so that he could destroy the horcrux in Harry. Before he could go out of the office and down to the Great Hall, Dumbledore grabbed Harry's arm.

"My boy, I want you to know that I would not have turned you away. I am sorry that I never saw that you were being mistreated, I should have listened to Minerva on that night." The last part was said more to himself. With that, he pulled the younger into a hug, almost crushing him with strength you wouldn't expect from an old man.

Finally, Harry went down the many stairs of Hogwarts, and soon was standing in front of the doors to the Great Hall. Steeling himself, and taking comfort in the constant presence of Potionem in the back of his head, he pushed open the doors and stepped through, finding all eyes turned toward him. Slightly unnerved, but his good acting skills letting him hide it, he walked past all of the stares to his seat, which he found had been saved by Ron and Hermione. Sitting, he ignored everyone in favor of his food and friends. Soon, the looks turned away in favor of the normal meal time conversations.

Without the normal, senseless chatter from Ron, who kept his mouth shut, and the constant berating from Hermione, who kept to her book without even glancing at him, he was very lonely. Of course, no one noticed, thinking the 'Golden Trio' to be perfectly fine together, as normal. As soon as he could, Harry stood up and left, going to the Gryffindor dorms so that he could grab his stuff and get his list of possible horcruxes. He had done some research on Riddle's family, and found that his dead mother was a squib from the Gaunt family. It took a couple of years to gather this information, with Potionem and several of the internet creeps working together to go through any records of ancient bloodlines that had been recorded.

So, Potionem suspected that one of the remaining horcruxes would be related to the Gaunts, or in the only remaining home that they owned, which had gone into disrepair after Marvolo died, and Morfin went to jail. Of course, he hadn't told Dumbledore this, since the old man would run off and most likely get a curse placed on him; due to the Pokemon creep that he met through BEN, Potionem was semi-immune to curses.

It was possible that the family ring, one of the few items that hadn't been auctioned off, would be one of the horcruxes, since Tom liked to keep them linked. With that, Potionem stood from his position crouched next to his trunk. He was going to inform Dumbledore that he may have found one, and was going to check it out, without telling him where so that the old man would not follow and get hurt.

Taking out one of his spray bottles, he pulled the trigger so that the deep purple liquid floated in front of him. Stepping through the newly formed portal, he entered the Headmaster's office without breaking stride. Dumbledore was slumped at the desk, obviously tired but trying to get work done. At Potionem's entrance, he jumped up, thankful for a distraction from paperwork. "My boy, what can I do for you? I thought you would be eating."

Potionem shook his head. "No, I went to look over my notes and decided that it would be best for me to go look for what I suspect to be the last non-living horcrux." This was said rather bluntly, so that Dumbledore would not question his source of information.

Nodding, Dumbledore motioned to the seat opposite him. "Sit, please. We can discuss what could be his horcrux. What do you believe it could be?"

Sitting, Potionem pulled out a small piece of paper that held the Gaunt family tree, dating back to Salazar Slytherin. "Since Tom has claimed his inheritance as Slytherin's heir, I traced his lineage and found that the only living line is with the Gaunts. Since one is in jail, and the other two dead, I figured that he would keep with his pattern and keep it connected with himself. There is a ring, that has been passed down for centuries, and I believe he would have made this his horcrux." With that sort-of long winded explanation, he stood, making his way to the door.

Dumbledore followed, with speed you would not expect. With the same sort of strength, he grabbed the younger's arm, stopping him in his tracks. "Do you think you are going to go alone?" He asked, and waited for the answer. When Potionem nodded, he gained a determined look. "Well, I can't let you go alone; I have failed you enough and I want to make it up to you in whatever way I can."

Knowing that the old man is as stubborn as an old mule, Potionem sighed and brought out his teleportation potion. Spraying it in front of them, he motioned for Dumbledore to go ahead before following. Once they stepped through, they found themselves in front of an old shack, which had a long dead snake skin nailed to the door. All around them were overgrown weeds, winding through the broken window and up the side of the building.

Scanning for signs of a visible curse, he pulled out yet another potion. This one was greenish yellow, and seemed to be sludge. Potionem sprayed it on the doorway, covering the entirety of the floor, walls, and frame. When it disappeared, he continued along this line, spraying and walking only in places he had cleared. It took several minutes, but the two of them found a small black box sitting in the kitchen. Making sure that Dumbledore didn't do anything rash, he sprayed the box all over, and found that there was not a spell on the box. Opening it, the Gaunt family ring sat in a bed of velvet, looking for all the world like the most precious gem.

When sprayed, the ring turned a disgusting brown colour, the same as poop. Pulling out another potion, this time just asking his magic since he did not recognize the curse, he sprayed the bright amber onto the ring, waiting until the black light faded into nothing. Once the ring returned to normal, he pulled out the final potion, this one the normal one that he used on the horcruxes. It died with a powerful screech, which made Dumbledore jump.

"My boy," he said, "is that normal? I have never destroyed one, but that seemed incredibly violent." The old man was visibly shaken, his hand clutching at his chest. Shrugging, Potionem grabbed the ring, still sitting in the velvet box, and stuffed it into his pocket. Then, without warning, he grabbed Dumbledore and pulled them back into the office, from where he disappeared.

It was time for war, which Harry and Potionem would need to prepare for.