A/N) I would like to apologise for not updating last Thursday. Chapter 69 still wasn't finished (and still isn't in fact, but I'm getting there now). I'm updating today because it is nearly finished, however I'll be updating once a week now, providing I finish the chapters in time. I think I owe people an explanation why my writing has slowed down. I am, currently, suffering from anxiety problems and when I'm like this, it takes a lot of effort to even get myself out of the state I'm in to write. I think I am getting there, but it might take a while so I do apologise if I don't update every week. I don't want to go back to short chapters so I will stick with long chapters. I hope I will be able to keep updating every week. The updates will either be on a Monday or a Thursday. I will not abandon this story - I will keep going. Today I have already written a lot of chapter 69 which is a marked improvement then what I've been able to do the last few weeks, so its progress :)

I will try my best to get back into a more regular updating schedule soon. With any luck I should be able to build on a back-log of chapters, but for now updates will be once a week :)

I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Truths

Saturday 20th March 1996

"Tonight we will discuss possible locations of the remaining Horcruxes," began Albus, looking across the table at Sirius and Harry who sat opposite him. "Thanks to your own investigations, Harry, we now know a possible identity of the final Horcrux however we have no way of confirming that the diadem is one unless we stumble across it. It is vital we track down the cup. Unfortunately we have no more leads." Dumbledore peered over his half-moon glasses, catching the eyes of his two companions. "It is imperative that we consider hiding places that would be of some connection to Voldemort's past. There is a snag that lies within following that path, all of the places that have been important to him have all been searched and Horcruxes found."

"What about Borgin and Burkes?" asked Sirius. "Voldemort worked there?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I do not think he would trust the owner to not sell it onward if he saw an opportunity for profit. This does leave us with very little options to consider. Gringotts is a candidate however Voldemort has never had a vault of his own which makes it an unlikely hiding place. It is something that might have appealed to him and to this day there is no vault in his name. If he hid a Horcrux within the bank it would be in one of the vaults of his most loyal followers. But I do not believe he would be so foolish to leave something of so great importance inside a public building. I will, of course, not rule it out, but I do not think it is the best place to start our investigations."

Harry fidgeted in his seat. "I was wondering, what about here, at Hogwarts?"

Sirius shook his head instantly. "I don't think so. Why would you think that?"

Harry shrugged. "Hogwarts was a home to Voldemort, wasn't it? It was the one place where he felt he was accepted, where he knew who he really was. It was here he found out his heritage. I remember from when I visited his memory in that diary of his, he didn't want to go back to the orphanage, he wanted to stay here. He's like me..." he shuddered, just even considering that made him feel a little queasy, "I never wanted to go back to the Dursley's, I always wanted to stay here, until Sirius came along, but Voldemort never wanted to return to the Muggle world as it was beneath him as he was the Heir of Slytherin. Hogwarts was the first place he truly felt he belonged. He hid a Horcrux in that cave – he used that place to scare young children, the ring was in the Gaunt's shack – a place of his ancestry, and the diary was given to one of his loyal followers to look after. Why not, based on that, can a Horcrux not be hidden in the school?"

Dumbledore leaned forward, his eyes brightening at Harry's logic. "That is very astute reasoning, Harry. It is a strong possibility that Voldemort did hide a Horcrux here." He glanced at Sirius who was raising his eyebrow in disagreement. "I believe Harry is right, Sirius, because Voldemort wanted to return to the school for a reason. Remember he did return to this school for a brief interview, it is possible he hid something in the school then because he had my free permission to wander around without being stopped by anyone. After he left my office, I have reason to believe he did go for a quick stroll, but I do not have proof of that, only mutterings. Highly feasible he took the chance to hide a Horcrux here. I wouldn't be surprised if he took that opportunity to do so then."

Sirius sighed audibly. "Ok, fine, that does make sense. That still leaves the question, where in Hogwarts would he hide a Horcrux? Slytherin Common Room? His old four-poster bed? The Chamber of Secrets? There are any number of places it could be!"

"Of which, I believe none of those places would hide a Horcrux," answered Dumbledore serenely.

"Not even the Chamber?" asked Harry incredulously. "I'd have thought that would have been one of the prime places to have looked?"

"The Chamber was already linked to another Horcrux," explained Dumbledore. "I do not believe that Voldemort would have linked or even hidden a second Horcrux within the Chamber itself. Voldemort isn't obvious, no matter how much we would like him to be, he simply isn't; he is cunning and upholds many of the qualities of Slytherin house. We can rule the Chamber of Secrets out because the diary was already a part of its mystery. If there is another Horcrux truly hidden within the castle, it would have been some place that only Voldemort himself believed he would know about."

"What are you implying?" Sirius was curious.

Dumbledore peered over his half-moon glances, a smile pulling at his face. "There are many places within Hogwarts that Voldemort discovered that countless students before and after him have found as well. He would believe that only he would have been able to find them. It is just picking and choosing the right place to start searching." He glanced at Sirius. "Considering Harry has his O.W.L examinations to prepare for, I suggest that Sirius deals with this, but if we do succeed in finding a Horcrux we will both let you know."

Harry nodded. This seemed fair. He was happier leaving the Horcrux hunt up to Sirius and Dumbledore. The longer he had to learn skills to survive against Voldemort, the better chance he had of surviving.

"I had always wondered why he had wanted to return to Hogwarts," mused Dumbledore, "but now I believe that his reasoning was to place a Horcrux here. Today, we begin."

Saturday 18th April 1996

Easter holidays had arrived, finding the Weasley children, Harry and Hermione within the confines of Grimmauld Place. Molly Weasley had ordered all her children home. After Percy's death she was determined to keep all of her children close to her whenever she could. She was, however, making sure that Fred and George studied for their NEWTs, while keeping a sharp eye on the studies of Harry, Ron and Hermione, even though she didn't have any legal jurisdiction over what Harry and Hermione did. Unbeknown to Molly, Sirius was still conducting his lessons with the trio, even though he had nothing more he could teach them, just to practice the spells he had already taught them. Technically he was breaking the law with allowing them to use magic outside school, however Grimmauld Place was protected, so the Ministry couldn't track underage magic there, especially since it was known a Wizard family had lived there. The Ministry had known that Sirius and Harry were no longer living at Godric's Hollow and had probably assumed that they had moved back to the Black family home, but since the house was heavily protected, they couldn't exactly send anyone to check up on them.

They would be returning to Hogwarts on the 21st April, just after Easter, having already had a two week break. Now, however, they were enclosed in the Black family library, searching through books of study, though a lot of the books on the shelf were not for their eyes, so Sirius had helped pick out ones which were suitable for them to read. Much as Harry and Ron hated to study, both boys understood that if they kept their studies up, they would be well prepared for whenever an attack against them came. Plus, it did also help them with their studies for their OWLs which would be commencing in less than six weeks.

"Harry?"

Glancing up from the battered book he was flicking through, Harry met the eyes of his godfather.

"Can I have a word?"

Exchanging a significant look with his two best friends, Ron and Hermione trooped out the library, allowing Sirius to join Harry in relative privacy. "Silentium," hissed Sirius, casting the silencing charm against the doorway. It prevented anyone from listening in on their conversation and acquiring information they were not in a position to know.

"What is it?" Harry was weary, wondering what bad news his godfather was bringing him now.

"It's nothing for you to worry about," began Sirius, "but I think it is important that you know this."

"Right..."

"As you know Draco Malfoy remained at Hogwarts over the holidays, which is unusual since he does tend to go home. We know he is working on something, something that involves Borgin and Burkes, but we cannot identify what. We also believe he is close to succeeding with what he is working on."

"You can't stop him?" asked Harry incredulously. "Professor Dumbledore can't allow himself to be killed!"

"Unfortunately, Dumbledore already is dying as you know, Harry. He hasn't got that much longer to live. He weakens day by day and his time is rapidly running out. I don't know the full details – and I suspect I never will – but the Headmaster has planned his own death and there is a reason for it. As long as it saves Draco Malfoy's soul, then it will be worth it for Dumbledore. Harry, I don't like this at all, but he's prepared you in the event of his death. We are doing all we can do destroy as many Horcruxes as possible before this event happens." Sirius swallowed, biting his lip, his grey eyes fixed upon his godson's. "I don't think it will be long before Dumbledore dies. I want to stop it, Harry, but you've got to understand, that I can't. Either way, Albus Dumbledore is going to die."

"And what then?" said Harry sullenly.

"We'll be alone to deal with whatever Voldemort throws at us," answered Sirius truthfully.

And that frank truth frightened Harry Potter more then he cared to admit.

Tuesday 21st April 1996

The last thing Harry had expected on his return to Hogwarts was to be called to the Headmaster's office that night. As far as he had been aware his private lessons with Dumbledore were over, unless they had discovered another Horcrux. But he was pretty certain either Sirius or Dumbledore had been able to track another one.

He stepped into the office, feeling a bit wary, wondering if he had done anything wrong. He caught Sirius' eye and the smile that was on his godfather's face relaxed him, knowing that whatever it was Dumbledore had to say was not something that he should worry about.

"I have called you both here because I believe you deserve an explanation..." Dumbledore trailed off, his eyes seeking their own, "...due to what happened with the locket. You overheard accusations told to me by the Riddle Horcrux. I have never told anyone what I am about to tell you but considering the circumstances you deserve to know the truth, because ultimately, when I die, versions of the truth will appear. It is not fair on either of you to wonder what the truth is and doubt me. It is only fitting that you know the truth before it is too late."

Harry recalled the Horcrux mentioning that his Headmaster had, had a sister and a mother that had been disappointed in him and a brother that hated him and desired him dead, how much of that was true? Harry swallowed, bracing himself mentally for the truth.

"You know the tale of the Three Brothers?" asked Dumbledore.

"The tale of what?"

"Ah, of course, you wouldn't know, would you, Harry? Brought up by Muggles, of course."

"Forgive me for asking," interrupted Sirius, "but what has this got to do with what we heard?"

"Everything," answered Dumbledore. He recited to Harry the tale of the Three Brothers, explaining about the three objects that 'Death himself' had carved for them when they had evaded death by creating a bridge to cross a river. The two elder brothers who were more arrogant then the younger suffered early deaths for the 'gifts' given to them by Death had not protected them, whereas the third and youngest brother had asked for something that would allow him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. The tale explained how Death had – unwillingly – handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility. It was at the end of his life that the third brother took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son and greeted Death like an old friend and went gladly with him.

"That's a fairy-tale?" questioned Harry.

Sirius nodded. "I remember hearing it for the first time and dismissing it as something as not true... now I know differently." Dumbledore gave him a sharp, surprised look, even as Harry whirled to face him.

"It's true?"

"The tale isn't, but the objects themselves are real enough," explained Sirius. "Well, I know one is real, and if one exists, then theoretically the others do as well."

"What one is real then and how do you know?" questioned Harry.

Sirius smiled at Harry. "You have one, Harry."

"I – what?" Then Harry slapped himself on the forehead. "The Cloak of Invisibility! My invisibility cloak!"

Sirius nodded. "It's been passed down from father to son, daughter to mother for years. It came to your father through his dad. You're descended from the third brother of that story. The Peverall brothers were talented wizards, who, if you don't mind me saying, were very lucky in creating these objects: the elder wand, the resurrection ring and the cloak. I don't believe for one second that they met Death, it was just a story that spun from their creations to give it more of a legend." He turned to Dumbledore. "But I don't see how these objects fit in with what you need to tell us?"

A gentle smile on Dumbledore's face. "If you allow me to explain, the pieces will all fall together in due course."

"Ah, sorry, Professor," replied Sirius, shrinking back a little in his chair.

Dumbledore raised his good hand. "There is no need to apologise," he smiled gently. He cleared his throat and began to speak. "The collective term for these three objects is Hallows; many wizards and witches have gone looking for them, hoping to reunite them and become worthy to possess all three. I was one of them. But first, I must explain about my sister – oh, yes, I had a sister, called Ariana, and a brother, Aberforth; both of whom were younger then me."

"I knew you had a brother..." said Sirius, "but had never heard of a sister being associated with you."

Dumbledore inclined his head. "There is a reason for that, of which I shall now explain." He folded his arms in front of him, clearing his throat before locking gazes with two much younger wizards. "I lived with my mother, father and two younger siblings in a small village called Mould-on-the-Wold. When my sister was six years old, she was attacked by three Muggle boys. They had seen her doing magic, but at that young age, witches and wizards are unable to control it, as you both very well know, having had incidents in your own childhoods were accidental magic is performed. The three Muggle boys attacked her," his eyes grew sad and solemn, "what they did, destroyed my sister. Ariana refused to use magic but she couldn't get rid of it; and because she never learned to harness it, the power she had exploded out of her, and at times she was dangerous, but mostly she was sweet, scared and harmless." He swallowed a lump in his throat that had formed. "My father went after the boys that attacked her, and what he did, caused him to be sent to Azkaban. He never explained why he did what he did, because if he had of done the Ministry would have taken Ariana and locked her up in St. Mungos. We had to keep her safe, so for our and her own safety, we moved house, and my mother looked after her."

Dumbledore took a deep breath, as if the effort of retelling this story was a horrible strain on him. Harry suspected that recalling these events were painful for him, especially if he had never told anyone about this before. "I regret not paying attention to my little sister's plight; I was more concerned with education, making a name for myself, keeping up correspondences with very notable people of the Wizarding world. My brother, Aberforth, was the one who could calm her down... but one day he wasn't there. My sister was fourteen, had never attended Hogwarts due to her condition, and she had one of her rages, and, it was quite by accident, but my mother was killed. At the time I had been planning a little excursion with my friend Doge around the world, but I came home for my mother's funeral and I stayed to settle down as head of the family."

"With my mother dead, my brother wanted to look after Ariana but I stopped him from doing so, ordering him to finish his education. So I stepped up and helped my sister, until he came..."

"Who, Professor?" asked Harry.

Sirius had a wary feeling of what the Headmaster was about to admit.

"Gellert Grindelwald arrived and I, finally, had someone to talk to. Ariana wasn't important to me; Grindelwald and I were hatching plans, and having heard of the Deathly Hallows, had decided to track them down. My brother was due to go back to Hogwarts when he told us that we couldn't move Ariana around, and... Gellert did not like that. He said horrible things to my brother; we hoped that in succeeding in our quest that Ariana would no longer need to be hidden because we were going to change the world." He did not elaborate, but anyone who knew what Grindelwald had been trying to do back when he was running across the world, understood what the old Headmaster was hinting at.

"There was an argument," Albus Dumbledore visibly swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat, "and, and Grindelwald tortured my brother – I tried to stop him, and then all three of us fought, and the..." his voice wobbled.

"She died, didn't she?" said Sirius gently. "Your sister and you don't know which one out of the three of you caused her death, do you?"

Albus Dumbledore shook his magnificent mane of white hair. "No, we don't. For that I blame myself. And that is what the Horcrux Riddle was talking about. My brother hates me for forgetting about my sister when I needed her the most. I have spent my life atoning for my mistakes. I do not know whether I was truly a disappointment to my mother... I went for power, I was young, easily misled by the ideas of ambition and eternal glory that came with power and my sister paid the price for my mistakes. My desire for the Hallows overlooked everything."

"I despise myself for everything that happened," continued Dumbledore quietly. "I was gifted, exceptionally so, I was brilliant and I wanted to escape from the dreary life my mother and brother lived in protecting Ariana. I wanted to shine above them, with glory, to be respected. I loved them, but I was selfish. When my mother died and I was left the responsibility of a damaged sister and a wayward brother, I returned to my village in anger and bitterness. Trapped and wasted, I thought! And then of course, Grindelwald came... We became fixated on the legend of the Deathly Hallows, so fixated that everything was so small in comparison. And that is what I blame myself for. And why it was important for you to understand the story behind the legend." He bowed his head in shame. "Both of you deserve to know this because of what you overheard, but in the end, undoubtedly, with my death, the truth will be dug up and the world will discover my secret. I do not wish for either of you to be concerned over the rumours that may be printed or spread about me. You have a right to know the truth behind those accusations you heard."

Both Harry and Sirius were silent, unsure of what to say to the Headmaster. Dumbledore had just revealed to them a secret that had been kept for so long. If Sirius had been the Black he had been raised to be he would have jeered at the Headmaster, but instead he was sad and sorry of his old Professor. He had never been under the impression that Dumbledore held no secrets – and he was sure that the old man was keeping more from them – but the crux of the point was, was that Albus Dumbledore had done so, to prepare them, to instruct them in what may come out as a consequence of his death. There was nothing Sirius could do but respect the wizard for that.

"It takes courage to admit what you are ashamed of doing," whispered Sirius. "I can understand that and can't – won't – hold it against you. Everyone has their secrets."

Dumbledore turned his soft gaze towards his younger student.

Harry bit his lip. "It's better to know the truth then not. It's something Uncle Vernon used to say before I found out I was a wizard. He kept drilling into me that I was 'no one special' and that I should know the truth then. I think, if they could have done, they would have stopped me from getting my letters entirely. I never understood myself until I learnt the truth... never knew why I was so different, in the end, Uncle Vernon was right, even if he tried to twist the truth so that I would never find out," he sighed. "I don't think of you any differently, Professor."

A kind, gentle smile pulled at Dumbledore's lips. "Why, thank you, Harry."

Harry just shrugged. "Why would I think differently of you anyway, Professor? You're just the same as you always were but I can just understand you a bit more. You made a mistake, people do, just like Sirius did in rushing after Pettigrew and he paid the price for it. Life is about making mistakes, isn't it? We don't learn otherwise."

Sirius looked at him crookedly. "When did you become so philosophical?"

"Since I started paying more attention to Hermione I guess."

A light smile played on the tip of his lips. "I thought as much."

Harry simply hit Sirius across the arm.

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

Next chapter: Murder - in which murder happens and things go to hell. Still being written so no preview available. Hopefully will be updated next Monday.

Until then,

the-writer1988