And Then There Was One

by Nihlism

A lack of trust towards Dumbledore leaves Harry to make his own choices in the war on Voldemort. Striking out at the end of his 5th year, Harry and a couple unexpected companions go in search of horcruxes, find love and ultimately try to save the world from a demented dark overlord. Harry/George -only slash pairing-, Charlie/OC, Luna/Draco. AU of course.

1. Prologue

Title: And Then There Was One

Rating: T (or PG-13 whichever you prefer to follow). Rated for language and certain content.

Warnings: Slash (Boys/Boys) and Bad writing (:

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story that you recognize, those are all the property of J.K. Rowling. (: So please no suing! Storyline and all original characters are mine. (:

And Then There Was One

Prologue

"We are not simply dealing with one horcrux, my boy. I have good reason to believe there are several more than that." The old man watched the younger silently, awaiting any hint of reaction. Thus far, the boy had given him nothing to show he was even alive aside from the steady sound of his breathing. Again, he pressed on without a response. "I've managed to recover an additional horcrux from the remains of the Gaunt family home." Here, he pulled open a drawer which held the remains of a diary that had been run through with the basilisk fang and a very small silver ring.

The sight of the diary seemed to awaken the boy and he whispered his first question of the night. "How do you intend to destroy that ring?" Startled, the older man dropped the ring to the floor, causing it to roll a few yards away. The young man leaned down and deftly scooped it up, stating his question once more with a piercing stare. "You don't happen to have any basilisks handy since you had the chamber destroyed, do you? Or perhaps some extra venom lying about? No, I imagine not. So, I ask again.. how do you intend to destroy this ring?"

A tense silence settled between the two men as they each gathered their thoughts. "I will destroy it using any means necessary and that is all you need worry about with that. You must help me find-" but the older man never got a chance to finish his plea as the younger had slammed the ring onto the oak desk before him and purposefully stomped out of the office, leaving a fine cloud of dust hovering over the small stack of books that had the misfortune of being in his path.

Neither of the men noticed the small figure hunched on the balcony, beady eyes trained on the elderly man who had just watched his best pawn walk off the game board. It would be this small shadow, lurking just beyond the reach of the light, that would make the last move in the old mans game.