Chapter Five; The Note

"So what did you do with Buddy and Crookshanks then?" Ron asked Hermione as they started walking down the street together.

"Ginny's watching Crookshanks and Buddy's at the kennels." She told him. Harry was glad that even though he had to leave his dog behind that at least he was there with his family. He hated leaving Cowboy at the kennels because his dog hated being away from people so much and he got very lonely when he wasn't with them.

"So do you guys want to get something to drink before we leave?" Hermione asked them as they both just simply shrugged at her.

"Sure. I mean it's not like we know where we're going anyway." Ron said as Harry silently nodded in agreement while they walked into the coffee shop. Harry and Hermione had both been here before with their families but Ron had not since he was a pureblood wizard and had very little knowledge about the muggle world. They all sat down at a table while waiting for a waitress to serve them.

"I want to show you guys something." Harry began before he removed a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"Uh no offense or anything Harry, but we really don't care about yours and Ginny's love letters to one another." Ron told him.

"It's not a love letter, it's something I removed out of the fake locket before I gave it to your sister. Look." Harry said before he passed it over to Hermione who unfolded it inside her hands and started reading it aloud.

"I know that you will be reading this long after I'm dead, but I just want you to know that I've stolen the real horcrux and have hidden it in a place where you will never find it. RB." She read.

"RB? Who's RB?" Ron questioned her.

"I dunno." She told him with a shake of her head when suddenly the waitress walked over to their table.

"Can I get you guys anything?" she asked them as they all looked up at her.

"Oh, I'll have a cappuccino." Hermione told her.

"Me too." Harry said.

"Same." Ron said as the waitress nodded at them before turning around and walking away.

"Listen Ron, I can't believe I'm saying this, but we need to go over to your house. I need to talk to Ginny and get the locket back." Harry said.

"What!? Ginny said that you gave that to her as a symbol of your promise that you'd come back for her!" Ron protested.

"I know, and believe me I still am. Locket or no locket, nothing on earth is going to stop me from coming back to her. But Sirius told me something one time about him having a brother and if we have the locket with us then_" Harry began when all of a sudden Hermione leapt to her feet.

"Petrificus Totalus!" she shouted sending a man in a plumbing uniform over onto the floor. Ron's mouth fell wide open as a look of complete shock and horror fell onto his face.

"Are you mad!? What the bloody hell did you do that for!?" he hollered but Harry had immediately caught on. He had glanced up in time just to see another man withdraw a wand out of his own pocket and Harry quickly stood up.

"Stupefy!" he exclaimed paralyzing the other man and sending him flying towards the back of the store.

"What was that all about!?" Ron yelled.

"I'm not sure, but I think they were death eaters." Hermione told him.

"That's crazy! What would death eaters being doing here!? And how'd they even know that we were here in the first place!?" he cried but before Harry or Hermione could answer him the waitress reappeared looking shocked and bewildered.

"Go! Just go!" Hermione shouted as she quickly rushed out of the room and Snape suddenly stepped inside the doorway.

"What the devil happened here!?" he cried.

"Death eaters." Hermione began before she turned to look at him. "And what are you doing here?" she asked him.

"Well it only took me a short time after you left for me to realize that even though I knew I couldn't stop you three, that doesn't mean that I couldn't tag along." He told her with a shake of his head.

"Why do you want to hang around with us for?" Ron asked him.

"Because I just do alright!?" Snape hollered back at him. "Harry's my son and you two are like my own children as well. And I don't want to see anything happen to you." He told him.

"Alright Snape, now that you're here we could actually use your help. Do you happen to know anyone by the name of RB?" Ron inquired as Snape nodded.

"Yes I do as a matter of fact. His name was Regulus Black he was Sirius' younger brother." He said before Ron turned over to look at Harry.

"It looks like you were right mate." He told him.

"Alright I better go wipe their minds, then we can head for the burrow." Hermione said as she started to walk away.

"Did you really mean that?" Ron wondered as he looked over at Snape. "Do you actually think of me like a son?" he asked him.

"Of course I did! Why would I lie about something like that?" Snape questioned him back.

"Gee, thanks Snape. That's one of the nicest things that you ever said to me." Ron said. "I guess I sort of think of you like a second father too, I mean seeing as I see Harry as a brother and everything. And well, I know we don't always get along but_" he began as Snape stifled a laugh.

"Neither do me and Harry. But that doesn't mean that we don't love each other. I mean if I recall correctly, you and your little sister seem to butt heads quite a bit. But I know that deep down that you think the world of each other." He said with a grin as Harry rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you just say that you love each other and be done with it?" he questioned them.

"I thought that we basically just did." Ron said. "Even though he can be a bit annoying sometimes." He added teasingly.

"Look who's talking!" Snape teased back as they walked out of the coffee shop together while Hermione laughed and shook her head.

"I swear, if I get to live to be as old as Dumbledore was I'll never understand you both." She told them.