Co-Written with stormypup

Disclaimer: A large part of the first chapter is taken straight from chapter 25 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and belongs to J.K. Rowling, as does a good portion of chapter two. These have been modified by the authors to fit with the challenge. Chapter three onward was written solely by the authors using JKR's characters.

A/N: This was written for the Written for Wave XII of the Harry/Snape fqf fest. This fanfiction is a complete work (25 chapters in all) and shall be updated every Weekend between Friday and Sunday. I'd have to throw much love and many sugary sweets at my beta-reader, NSW, who put up with our horrible all-nighter grammar skills.

Here's the beginning of the adventure. Oh and if you don't like Harry/Ginny, I suggest you avert your eyes towards the middle because they kiss. Ewwww. ;)

Chapter Six

Harry didn't need to be told twice. His arrival in the alley at the edge of Privet Drive didn't garner any unnecessary attention, but his skin prickled nevertheless. He could tell someone was watching for him, or was watching out for him. Either way, he kept to the shadows and stealthily made his way behind the two houses before Number Four.

He entered through the kitchen door. So far no one had appeared out of nowhere and tackled him, for which he was grateful. He would be ready in under an hour. He'd be ready in less then ten minutes except for the damn warm jacket. Why hadn't he ever thought of investing in warmer muggle clothing before? How moronic was he?

The house was dead silent as he made his way up to Dudley's second bedroom and opened the door. He paused in the doorway and stared.

"Ginny?"

Ginny sprang off the bed and enveloped him in a hug, before pulling away. They stared at each other for a moment before Ginny's look went cold, and without warning, she slapped him hard across the cheek.

Harry rubbed his cheek with an expression of disbelief. "What the hell?"

"Don't you ever do that again, moron!" Ginny hollered. "Do you know how worried we were?! Do you know how worried Mum and Dad were? Harry, they were going on like you were kidnapped! Where did you go?!"

It could have been worse, he'd seen Ginny bloody Ron's nose before. "Guess I deserved that," he said, looking apologetic. "Sorry Ginny, but something came up and there was no time to explain," he said lamely.

"Too right you're sorry," Ginny said, though she was no longer looking so angry. "We can talk at the Burrow. Grab your things and we'll go before Mum has the whole Order here."

Harry felt a moment of panic. "Ginny, I can't," he said, looking around the room. "Where's my trunk?" he asked, before remembering that it was probably still downstairs.

He left the room taking the stairs two at a time, Ginny close behind him. "Harry, what's going on?" Ginny asked, grabbing his arm and turning him around.

Harry looked at his trunk and ran a hand through his hair. What was he supposed to tell her? 'Oh, I'm running off with Snape to Bulgaria to get a Horcrux. No, I don't know any details, see ya later!'

"I really don't have time to explain now, Ginny," he said squeezing her hand before opening his trunk. He knelt beside it and began taking out things at random as he continued talking to her. "Before Dumbledore...well, before he died, he introduced me to one of his...informants," he said, choosing his words carefully. He held up a long sleeved shirt, idly wondering if it would be warm enough. Probably not. "He contacted me today and I have to go," he said, glancing up at her, "to Bulgaria."

"What?" Ginny asked. "Bulgaria? Harry, are you sure this isn't some kind of trap?" she asked. "Who is this person and how do you know you can trust him?"

Harry stared into his trunk. He didn't know, not really. "Because Dumbledore asked me to," he said. If he thought about it too much, he'd remember all the reasons not to trust Snape and he'd be left behind.Better he was with him to keep an eye on him Harry pulled out his broom. Snape hadn't said how they were getting to Bulgaria and he wondered if he should bring it with him.

Ginny deflated. "You'll miss Bill and Fleur's Wedding."

A pained expression flitted across Harry's face as he stood back up. He shrunk his broom and pocketed it along with his invisibility cloak. He fingered the long sleeve shirt speculatively.

"Ginny?"

"Yes?" she looked at him inquisitively. Her wine colored hair trickled over her shoulders and fell gently across her breasts and Harry found himself lost in her warm brown eyes. Why did it have to be her and not Ron or Hermione that was waiting for him? He kicked himself mentally. "Are you ok, Harry?"

Harry shook his head ruefully. "What's the weather like in Bulgaria in the summer?"

Ginny gazed at him impassively. "It's hot and dry. Why?"

Harry bit back a laugh as he dropped the shirt back into his trunk. "That bastard."

"Why can't I go with you?" Draco asked Snape for the tenth time, and for the ninth time, Snape ignored him. He had already answered the question once and didn't have time to answer again because Draco was feeling petulant.

"I've already told you," he snapped, double-checking the potions before putting them in his bag. They would all be all right when he had to shrink them, and the ones that wouldn't work once they had been affected by magic, he was keeping in a pouch tied to his belt. "Don't leave the house or contact anyone and you'll be perfectly safe," he said, closing his small bag and casting a shrinking spell. He put the bag in the pocket of his trousers.

Snape didn't like the fact that he wouldn't be able to wear his robes, but he did not wish to draw attention to himself among the muggles. He was wearing black cotton trousers and a white shirt with long sleeves. He at least felt more secure behind the numerous buttons. Despite what he'd told Potter, Bulgaria was quite hot this time of year and he didn't want to be miserable.

"I'm not incompetent and I'm not a child!" Draco argued.

"No, but you are a target!" Snape said, scowling. "Draco, I haven't the time for this. The Dark Lord could summon me at any time," he said, summoning a lightweight cloak.

"You could at least tell me what's going on," Draco said irritably.

Snape rolled his eyes. He didn't have much faith that Draco wouldn't sell him out to save his own hide were he to know exactly what Snape was doing. "I'll be back," Snape said, walking out the back door of the cottage. Before Draco could say another word, he was gone.

Harry had grabbed some shorts and short sleeved shirts and a few pairs of trousers and tossed them into a bag. He slung it over his shoulder very aware of Ginny's constant watch. He hung his head and turned around.

"This is it," he finally said. He had managed to waste forty-five minutes just laughing over some of his uglier clothing with Ginny, but now he really did have to go. He wanted to be prompt for once. Maybe he could prove to Snape that he was as capable as he wanted to be viewed.

And then Ginny was in his arms. He cradled her thin frame to him and pressed a soft kiss to her auburn hair, then to her forehead, and then a chaste kiss to her lips. He could feel the restraint she was showing.

"Good luck Harry," Ginny murmured, gently kissing his cheek before stepping away. She ruffled his raven locks and smiled affectionately. "Don't get yourself killed."

"I'll certainly keep that in mind, Gin," Harry said dryly. His smile softened as he stared at her. "Bye."

"Good-bye," she repeated equally soft. Then, bag slung over his shoulder and wand in hand, he Apparated out of 4 Privet Drive.

Snape had told the boy one hour and exactly one hour was what he would wait. It would be Potter's own fault if he was late and Snape was gone. He Apparated to the barn, noting the time on his watch, feeling smug that in less than ten minutes he could leave without Potter.

A crack sounded Potter's early arrival, and sent his hopes of a Potter free trip crashing down around him. It didn't help his mood that Potter was looking so pleased with himself.

"You smarmy git," Harry said, but there was no anger in his tone just amusement, born from an hour with Ginerva Weasley and her wicked sense of humor.

Snape had his wand out and pointed at Harry before the boy could blink. "Watch your tone, Potter," he rasped, striding toward Harry. "I may no longer be your professor, but you will show me respect or you may go home," he growled.

Harry's smile faltered. "Sir, I only show respect to those who earn it and lying to me does nothing to make me want to respect you." He sighed, wishing he had started off on better footing.

"I have done more than you can possibly imagine," Snape snarled before turning away and stalking to the stall where he had put the portkey. He took the rusty old horseshoe and went back to Potter. What was he thinking, allowing him to come along? This wasn't going to end well.

"How do you know I'm not taking you straight to the Dark Lord?" Snape asked, holding up the horseshoe. "I could take you to your death and you'd probably be stupid enough to go," he said, sneering.

"What do I have left to lose?"

And with that said, Harry grabbed the other side of the rusting horseshoe. It was obviously time set because nothing happened right away and Harry had to fight hard against the urge to look away from Snape's penetrating gaze. It was unnerving.

Snape didn't know whether to applaud the lad's courage or beat him about the head with a stick for being so trusting. He could very well be taking Harry to the feet of the Dark Lord, to his certain death, and yet here he was, putting his trust in Severus Snape of all people.

"You're a fool, Potter," Snape said, shaking his head in disgust.

Harry looked up at him in confusion. There was something in his ex-professors tone making Harry wonder what the older man meant. But before he could ask, he felt a familiar tug at his naval and squeezed his eyes shut as they vanished out of the barn.

After what felt like an eternity, the portkey deposited them on a rocky hillside covered in green shrubs. Snape smirked when Harry stumbled before finding his footing and then looked around to get his baring.

"Where are we?" Harry asked, looking around the stark landscape.

"Bulgaria, outside of Teteven," Snape answered, checking his belt pouch to make certain that his potions had survived the trip. The boy stared at him dumbly and Snape could feel a dull headache form at the base of his head. "What?" he snapped, never once looking up as he looked at each vial individually.

"You never answered me before. Why Bulgaria?"

Snape ground his teeth together. "There is a monastery about a mile from here," he said, tightening the string on his pouch once again. "We are going to procure a room, and tonight I am going to break into their records to try and find out what happened to Helga Hufflepuff's cup. Before you asked, I have no desire to explain the long, convoluted history of how it came to be here. All you need know is this was the last place it was believed to have been," Snape said, setting off.

"Wait!" Harry cried, hurrying to catch up. "How do you know you'll be able to get into their records?" he asked.

"Have you forgotten that we are wizards, Potter?" Snape asked sarcastically. "I'll talk to the monks and find out where the records are kept, and then it is just a matter of getting to them."

"What if they keep them somewhere else?" Harry asked, trying to keep up with Snape's long stride. "And what if they're on a computer or something? You can't magic your way into that!"

Snape stopped and turned his glare upon Harry. "I will deal with problems as they arise," he said, annoyed once again. "I have been doing this longer than you have been alive, Potter."

"We," Harry said, stubbornly.

"What?" Snape asked, frowning.

"We will deal with problems as they arise," Harry said, straightening his shoulders. "You keep saying 'I', like I'm not even here."

Snape glowered. "I don't have time for this."

Harry shrugged. "All the more reason you need my help," Harry said, starting to walk once again. "Two can read faster than one."

"You don't even speak Bulgarian!" Snape said, easily catching up to Harry. "How do you plan on reading old text?"

"Translation spells. I don't know Latin either but I manage spell books just fine that way. Have you forgotten that we are wizards, sir?" Harry asked, not even trying to hide his triumphant smirk.

"With your potion scores were so abysmal, I was under the impression that Granger did all your reading for you," Snape said, sneering and lengthening his stride, outpacing Harry once again.

Harry snorted. "I did perfectly fine when you weren't teaching," he said under his breath, but not quite softly enough.

Snape scowled dangerously. "I know you had my old textbook, Potter. You can't honestly expect me to go along with the idea that you had the slightest clue that you knew what you were doing," he growled.

Harry blushed, but didn't look away from Snape's glower. "Yes, the half-blood prince was very helpful," he said calmly. "If I known that was you, I would have listened to Hermione and not used it at all."

"Once again, you confirm my belief that you are a brainless twit," Snape sneered.

They walked in angry silence for a time until the monastery on the hill came into view.

"Is that it?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Snape replied curtly.

Harry nodded slowly as he took in the monastery before him. The building sat like a fortress on top of a rocky ledge. Its stone walls were huge and the little bit of wood on top did nothing to dissuade from its power. It seemed impenetrable and unreachable and he almost felt guilty that they were going to have to violate its integrity.

Trees blocked all visible routes to the monastery and added to its imposing nature. From the angle he was staring at it, it almost seemed crooked with age. It was fragile and impregnable. He paused for a moment before stumbling to keep up with Snape. It was obvious that he knew something about the place that Harry didn't, because his gait remained undaunted.

"So, we just...walk in?" Harry finally asked, unable to hide his curiosity any longer.

"That would be the plan, yes," Snape replied.

"Um..."

Snape sighed. "It is open to the public and they rent rooms for the night to visitors," he said in exasperation. "Are you going to make me explain everything?" he asked, scowling at Harry.

Harry glared and then sighed. "I have one last question actually."

"And did you plan on sharing with the class or am I to guess?" Snape ask, rolling his eyes.

"What if they only have one room?"

"Then I'm sure you can find an empty stall in the stables," Snape said sarcastically. "I'm hardly worried about the sleeping arrangements as I plan to spend little time in the room. You do recall why we're here, do you not?"

"Research," Harry mumbled, shrugging uncomfortably. "But no one can do research forever. It's stupid to think you can."

"Oh in that case, I thought we'd lie in bed and snuggle!" Snape snapped. "For Merlin's sake, Potter, I promise not to compromise your delicate Gryffindor virtue! We are here to do a job, and once that job is complete, we will leave."

Harry's eyes bugged out of his head as a myriad of disturbing images drifted across his head. He hugged himself and averted his eyes, clenching his jaw.

"Pervert," he muttered, brushing past Snape and heading up the windy dirt path.

Snape snickered as Harry rushed past in a huff. Idiot child.

Harry paused in the middle of the path and waited. The sun was beating down on his head and he could feel the sweat drip down his neck and down the back of his shirt. He tilted his head to the side, listening as Snape's shoes crunched on the pebbles almost silently.

He didn't make any move to indicate what was going through his head and once Snape had reached his side he fell into step with the man. The silence that hung between them wasn't comfortable and Harry felt ill at ease standing this close to Snape, but he didn't know which path to take.

The main one they were on now split in three directions. Harry could immediately rule out the one to his right, but the center and left ones were up for debate. He figured he'd just let the all-knowing Snape sort it out for them.

About fifteen minutes later, Harry was eating his words. It seemed Snape was all knowing after all. He stood back and watched as Snape rapped on the wood door five times then waited.