Grimmauld Place

Sorry for the wait; school started August 25 (yeah, I know the last chapter was updated five days after that), and I've already had to do a project, two lab reports, two reading log reports, and a lot of tests. All of this accompanied by my homework is not cool at all. My birthday was the fifth of September and we went to Universal in Orlando, and my grandma's birthday is today (happy birthday Grandma!). We had to go to lunch with her yesterday to celebrate both of our birthdays. Also, my dog, Max, had his seventh birthday (in human years) on the tenth so I spent extra time with him.

You know what a really awesome word is? Lugubrious! It means sad or depressed. The definition isn't so awesome, but it just sounds so cool! I'll try to use it in this chapter, but I'm not sure how.

Percy's POV

After feeling as if I was being squeezed through a tight tube, we appeared in a dark house that felt abandoned. It smelled terrible – I could smell the dust and mold, and by the looks of Annabeth's crinkled nose, she could too. Harry whispered, "Stay quiet. Sirius's mum has a screaming portrait that wakes up whenever someone's loud."

These were about the strangest words I'd ever heard, but I figured it was a wizard thing. Screaming portraits…? What's next; singing coat hangers?

Harry led the way into a dark kitchen and lit some gas lamps. He put his bag on the table and opened some zippers, looking for something. I'm not sure what he was looking for, but it became apparent when he took a golden locket out of one of the compartments. Hermione moved closer and examined it, frowning, "Why'd he give you a locket?"

Then I remembered; Dumbledore said he left something in Harry's backpack that could be useful. Harry answered, "Well, it sort of looks like the locket that is supposed to be a Horcrux, but it's not." He opened it and a rolled up piece of parchment fell out. Harry unrolled it and read aloud, "'To the Dark Lord. I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more. R.A.B.'"

Silence followed. Then Annabeth spoke up, "So…someone already found the locket Horcrux?"

"It looks like it," Ginny frowned, "But did this R.A.B. person destroy it? Or did he die before he got the chance?"

"We won't know until we find it," Harry sighed.

"But it could be anywhere now!" complained Ron.

"All we need to do is figure out who R.A.B. is and go from there," Annabeth said.

"Yeah, do you guys know any wizard with those initials?" I asked.

"Something's tugging on my brain, I just can't think of it," Harry frowned.

"I know…it's like I should know who this person is, but I just can't remember," Hermione agreed.

"R.A.B….," Ginny murmured.

Just then, a sulking Kreacher entered the kitchen and glared around at them all. But when his eyes reached the locket in Harry's hands, they widened and he lunged at it. Hermione screamed and Harry jumped back, ordering, "Kreacher, stop!"

Kreacher stopped trying to snatch the locket and stared up at it in disbelief, "Where did you's get's Master Regulus's locket?! Tell Kreacher where's you's get's Master Regulus's locket!"

Hermione gasped, "Regulus Black!"

"Sirius told me he was a Death Eater!" Harry gasped, "And he's dead!"

"You're saying that the locket could be in this house?" Annabeth asked.

Harry turned to Kreacher, "What do you mean by "Master Regulus's locket"? Tell me everything you know about this locket."

And so the house-elf did. He told us the whole story, and I got a taste of how horrible this Lord Voldemort really is. At the end of Kreacher's story, Harry asked, "Where's the other locket now? Can you show us? We'd like to finish what Master Regulus started."

Kreacher shuffled over to a cupboard and opened it, revealing a mass of blankets, photos, and other odd items. He picked up a gold locket and handed it to Harry. After a moment's hesitation, Harry offered Kreacher the fake locket, "I'd like you to have this, Kreacher. I'm sure he'd want you to have it as a token of gratitude for what you –"

Harry was cut off as the house-elf broke down he was so overcome with joy. I stared at the house-elf as Harry and Hermione attempted to calm him down. This took almost a half an hour, and when he could finally stand, he put the locket around his neck and asked, "Who's, may Kreacher ask, are's your's friends, Master Harry?"

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny looked shocked. I'm guessing this wasn't normal behavior for Kreacher. Harry answered, "This is Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. They're helping us finish what Master Regulus started."

Kreacher bowed at Annabeth and me. The four wizards and witches still looked shocked, "What's would Master Harry and his friends like to eat?"

Ginny said, "Er – anything would be nice, Kreacher."

"Of course, Mistress Ginny," Kreacher bowed and busied himself in the kitchen. Ginny met the eyes of everyone, mouthing, 'Mistress Ginny?'

"You've been kind to him, Harry, and you get rewarded," Hermione explained.

"Well, what we need to do now is figure out how to open that locket," Ron said, pointing to the locket in Harry's hand.

"It was Slytherin's locket, wasn't it?" Ginny asked.

"What's that got to do with anything?" I asked.

"How did you get into the Chamber of Secrets, Harry?" Ginny asked. Hermione gasped.

"I can't believe I didn't see it before! Slytherin's locket that's impossible to open and Slytherin's chamber that's impossible to find would be opened the same way!"

"Try saying something in Parseltongue to it, Harry!" Ron said excitedly.

"What's Parseltongue?" Annabeth asked.

"Snake language," Hermione answered, "Salazar Slytherin was the first known Parselmouth, and all of his descendants have the same skill. Harry's not Slytherin's descendent though; he received the ability when he was a year old when Voldemort went after him. When Voldemort tried to kill him and the spell rebounded, some of Voldemort's power was transferred to him and he can speak to snakes."

"So Voldemort is Slytherin's descendent?" I clarified.

"The only living one," Hermione confirmed.

Harry placed the locket on the table and stared at it with a look of concentration on his face. Then he opened his mouth, but words did not come out; instead, I heard a terrible hissing and spitting noise that sounded very much like a snake. The locket opened, and inside were two disgusting looking brown eyes. Nothing happened yet, but the sense of foreboding in the air made me feel as if something was going to happen. Kreacher had stopped working and was staring at them.

"Greek weapons can destroy them. Do any of you have a knife?" Harry asked.

"I do," Annabeth answered, pulling a knife from her back pocket. She handed it to him.

"I've already destroyed one. I think one of you should do it," Harry suggested. Hermione shook her head, and Ginny wasn't even looking at it. I didn't understand why, but Harry seemed to, because he didn't even look at her when offering, "Ron?"

Ron hesitated, but took the handle of Annabeth's knife and approached the locket on the table. It started moving, but Harry held it steady. It was scary how it just moved by itself. Ron raised the knife and stabbed both windows quickly, and there was a clash of metal and a long, drawn-out scream. I covered my ears, and so did everyone else but Ron.

Both glass windows of the locket were punctured, and the stained silk lining of it was smoking slightly. Harry picked it up, "One down, five to go. Then we can go after Voldemort and Kronos."

I know that when Ron destroyed the locket, nothing very exciting happened like it did in the book. But this is because the Horcrux didn't get to know how to get to Ron yet since it didn't spend a lot of time with him. Also, Ron has no doubt about what Harry and Hermione are doing behind his back since Ron and Hermione are together now.

I didn't get to use lugubrious! Oh well, maybe later...