A/N: Sorry for the long time that I took to get this chapter BETA'd (I had to look for another editor). If anyone is interested in reading my other fics, I have three other one-shots up. But please take their individual ratings and warnings into account.

Also note the change in my Pen Name.

Chapter Three

The Mission

Two days later, Dumbledore was prepared. At eleven o'clock in the night, he was preparing to set out from his office, making sure that he was invisible. This mission of his had to remain a secret. He put out the crackling fire in his office and opened the door slowly.

Dumbledore stepped outside into the corridor, which was dark save for a few rays of moonlight. He descended the steps as quietly as he could. The only person he came across was the Grey Lady, the Ravenclaw ghost. The tall, astute woman was floating serenely along the first floor corridor, oblivious to Dumbledore's presence or movements.

After some time, Dumbledore had reached the great oak double doors of the castle. He unlocked them and stepped out. After securing them again, Dumbledore walked to the gates. In a matter of minutes, he had crossed the boundaries of Hogwarts. Once more, he made himself visible.

Dumbledore's mind was focused on his destination. He turned on his heel and Disapparated.

A second later, he was in a deserted village square. An old World War I memorial stood beside him. He noticed that the streetlights were dimmed on purpose; a great war was raging in the Muggle world. Dumbledore was surprised that some Muggles were actually staying behind, considering the village's close proximity to London.

Dumbledore looked carefully in the direction of a couple of roads; he knew that the church would catch his eye almost at once. He was right, of course. He took out his little silver Put-Outer and extinguished what little light that was emitted by the streetlamps. Lighting his wand with a non-verbal Lumos, he walked quickly and quietly towards the church gates.

Dumbledore opened the gates with the Alohomora incantation. After stepping into the yard and locking the gate again behind him, he paused for a moment to think. He had to go a bit more slowly and sense the magic around him. Horcruxes were not easy to detect, because only a part of the soul was preserved within one. Hypothetically, if a wizard was to split his soul more number of times, his Horcruxes would be harder to detect. So far, no one had attempted to make more than one Horcrux.

Dumbledore sensed the magic around him. Beyond the boundaries of the church (and within the confines of the village), only fourteen souls, including his own, were present. Grindelwald's Horcrux seems to be well-protected, thought Dumbledore worriedly.

Dumbledore opened the double-doors of the church, and stepped inside. He decided to search for the Horcrux physically, and use magic only when he was sure that the Horcrux was very near.

Dumbledore searched under the benches and at the altar as stealthily as he could, but could find nothing suspicious. Nicolas Flamel had said that his hideout could be somewhere near the church. He exited the building through the back door and walked into the adjacent graveyard. He knew that he had to use magic to locate anything suspicious here.

The graveyard was not very large, and was dark save for a few dimmed lights at a few locations. Dumbledore put the lights out as he had done before, lit the tip of his wand and walked from grave to grave.

He was sensing the magic around each grave as he walked along. Around twenty minutes later, he sensed something suspicious around a grave, which had a marble angel standing close to it. He raised his want to read the inscription on the gravestone:

Vilhelm Septimus Grendel

1845-1914

A great father and husband

Dumbledore recognised the surname "Grendel" at once. The Grendels were a pure-blood German family who preferred to be secretive despite having utter disregard for non-purebloods, Muggles and Squibs. Most German wizards were not very supportive of such families. Ironically, one of their family members had been buried at a Muggle graveyard.

Dumbledore had a hunch that this grave would lead him further. He examined every inch of the grave carefully, and saw something after many minutes. It was something that looked somewhat out of place; and yet made sense in some mysterious way.

It was an ornate red "G" that was barely visible to the eye. "Does G stand for Grindelwald? Or Grendel? Or does it stand for both?" said Dumbledore in a whisper, so focused on his mission that he was unaware he had spoken out loud.

He pointed his wand at the little "G" emblem and murmured something. The gravestone as well as some of the earth around it sank out of sight. The grave itself was untouched.

Dumbledore raised his lit wand and looked at the flight of stairs that led underground, presumably to Grindelwald's hideout. As he walked down the first few steps; the hole in the ground was shut of its own accord with an ominous thud. Dumbledore looked back warily, and noticed that the red "G" was present here, too, but with a difference: it was much larger than the one on the gravestone.

Dumbledore returned his concentration to the flight of steps that lay ahead of him; and descended down the stairs. He was very sure that Grindelwald would not be careless enough to stow his Horcrux right here: surely, it had to be somewhere deeper within.

After what seemed like a long time, Dumbledore had reached the end of the stairs. He looked around cautiously, for the silence seemed deathly and ominous.

Dumbledore's first thought was that Grindelwald's sanctuary could have been as vast as the Department of Mysteries. Yet another hurdle had shown up in Dumbledore's path. His attention wavered for a moment, heightening a significant sense of mixed uncertainty and fear.

Collecting his thoughts, Dumbledore looked around him more carefully this time. The place did not seem as large as he had thought. The underground dwelling was made of stone. There was no sign of Grindelwald's emblem. Instead, there were three black doors in front of him. Two torch brackets separated the door, and the torches within them had burned out a long time ago. Dumbledore was reminded irresistibly of Grindelwald's other sanctuary in Germany.

Dumbledore's instinct told him that it was best to use very little magic. He walked quietly to the first door and opened it. To his surprise, it was unlocked.

He searched the dark room within, and did not find anything suspicious, not even when he risked sensing the presence of a fragment of soul.

He returned to the hall and entered the second room. The second room was small and dark. It proved to be as useless as the first one for Dumbledore. He had tried sensing for the Horcrux in the last room before entering it. But he could not do so. That could mean only one thing: Grindelwald's Horcrux was in the last room; the room that Dumbledore had not entered.

Dumbledore tried the Alohomora incantation on the door. It did not work. He tried another spell, and the door swung open with an ominous creak.

Dumbledore stepped in cautiously, his wand held high above his head. This room was much larger than the others. Torch brackets were present on either sides of the door. The torches, however, were not lit. The only light in the room was the one emerging from the tip of Dumbledore's wand.

A long table with many chairs was present in the middle of the room. A thick layer of dust was present on the table, chairs and the floor. At one end of the table, a high-backed, ornate chair was present. Presumably, it was Grindelwald's chair.

For some reason, Dumbledore focused his attention on the chair. Something about it intrigued him. He walked towards the chair quickly and quietly, and looked at the chair more closely.

The chair appeared to be made of mahogany. Its cushions were entirely black. A small, red-coloured and ornate "G" was marked on one of its legs: Grindelwald's emblem. He took a risk and sensed the magic around it. It was a long time before he finally sensed what he had been looking for all this time: the Horcrux. It seemed to be a very small fragment of the Dark Master's soul.

To be continued ...

Review responses:

Lilith: Thank you for your review and compliments. But I cannot answer your questions, I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone!

InkandPaper: Thank you for your review and suggestions.Grindelwald and Voldemort do have a few things in common, don't they? Also, it's not easy for me to change my writing style, but I will try to improve.