A/N: Loving your raven theories.

IMPORTANT: In case some missed it, I posted two chapters in quick succession, so it's possible you missed one. This chapter picks up directly after the last one. Grindelwald has just handed Harry the bag. (Of course, Harry doesn't know it's Grindelwald)

Made a time change. So, basically, Grindelwald gave Harry the bag on the sixth of August instead of the 2nd of August. This is due to some relatively massive narrative changes, all of which made the horcrux hunt a bit less easy for our heroes, because originally it was just way too straightforward.

So now, there are only four days left until the full moon.

Late on the Sixth of August 1995.

Harry made his way out of the village he'd found himself in and walked through the bare open fields lit only by the moon. His legs hurt, and his joints creaked from their time in captivity. He was missing those daily meals now. Though a small part of him blamed the food for his current condition, and the deterioration of the connection between he and his mother, he still craved the comfort of having a full stomach.

The bag from the old man was heavy in his right hand. Ginny's paws were resting over his left shoulder, while her hind legs were sort of folded into the crook of his elbow.

Their time on the run so far had been quite strange. His and Ginny's friendship was difficult to define. He felt as though their time in captivity had joined them together in a way that couldn't be fulfilled by a friend. He didn't understand it, really, and he wished he could speak to his mum about it.

He knew he fancied Ginny. He'd known that since the Yule Ball at least, but this was different. This wasn't some passing fancy like the one he'd had for Cho or Elizabeth. True, those two people had both occupied a large portion of his mind for many months, they'd been a sort of obsession rather than any actual feelings. They were both physically attractive, but Ginny, again, was different.

Now, however, he felt guilty for having ever thought of Ginny like that. He couldn't help but compare himself to Riddle and what he'd done to her in the dream. If Harry made any move, ever, he'd always feel as though he was taking advantage of her.

On top of that, the Ginny he now walked beside felt like a different person. It was still Ginny, the one he'd known for years now, but she had changed. It wasn't that Harry disliked these changes, or was made uncomfortable by her determination, but he had to take that into account.

It posed the question, did he fancy Ginny, or was he still clinging on to the girl he'd become so close to over this past school year.

So, in the end, he was reserved to letting Ginny do whatever it was she wished to do. If that was to firmly cement him in the friend-zone and find someone else, Harry would just have to cope.

Either way, it made him feel incredibly stupid to worry or care about such trivial matters, especially when they were on the run.

His birthday had passed without much more than Ginny grabbing his hand and falling asleep again. The full moon was once again approaching. Only four days left, in fact.

Perhaps Ginny's animagus form could keep him humane, as his father's, Sirius's, and Pettigrew's had to Remus

To do so, however, she'd have to be awake.

Eventually Harry himself got tired of walking. Looking back down the hill, the village had become no more than a large globule of light polluting the horizon. Harry stood right along a treeline. He took the few steps necessary to reach the first tree and collapsed against it. He stretched his legs out and squeezed his thighs together in an attempt to make a large plane.

Gently, he lowered the fox down to his lap. She re-adjusted herself in her sleep a bit, but otherwise remained still.

Harry leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. Letting the fatigue slowly take over his body. He kept his right arm resting against his thigh so that Ginny could curl her back into it, sort of like Mrs. Figg's cats.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, his muscles relaxing, the pains of the day receding, his left arm bumped into something.

He opened his eyes and looked down to see what it was that had awoken him.

It was the duffle bag. Packed to the brim and ominous.

Harry, feeling a strong sense of curiosity killed the cat, leaned forward and pulled the zipper open.

Inside were three potion vials, each with a red string attached to the neck. Beside that was a dozen or so cans. Some contained peaches and other sweeter things, others were simply beans. It was food that wouldn't rot. Things for people on the run. There was a pair of spoons, and a roll of parchment buried in between the potion vials.

This would be enough food to last them a week or two. Harry had long ago been used to eating minute portions. He could so again.

The question was whether or not Ginny could last on them.

Harry didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until he felt something tickling his face, forcing him to crack open his eyelids.

He was greeted to the pink sky of a sunrise. The air was cool, and the grass was wet with dew. Harry reached up to push whatever it was on his nose away but came into contact with a small animal.

He opened his eyes fully and took in the sight.

If a fox could somehow look smug, Ginny had accomplished it. She was gently moving her head from side to side, brushing her whiskers against Harry's face.

He scrunched up his features and picked her up. She let out a squeak and Harry put her down next to him.

In a flash of white light, she returned to her human form, chuckling.

"I was sleeping, you know," said Harry disgruntledly

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, but we're not exactly hidden here, are we? And besides," she yawned, "I want to know what's in that bag."

Harry turned to the bag in question. "Some bloke in an alley gave me that last night. He kknew our names and seemed to know our future… I'm sure the whole seer bit is nothing more than a joke of some kind, but the food in here is legitimate. I've seen it before in Aunt Petunia's pantry. Those potions," he lifted one up for her to see, "are for you. They're supposed to give you your strength back,"

Ginny's burst of energy was already fading, Harry could see it in her eyes. "I suggest you take them," Harry finished.

Ginny nodded slowly and reached forward. The corks on each vial had a number etched into it. She took the first one and uncorked it. She hesitated.

Harry could understand why. The last things she'd drunk had done something to her neither Harry nor Ginny could wrap their heads around. She replaced the cork and lowered the vial to the ground.

"I don't…" she faltered and carefully pulled her shirt up, revealing a large red blotch from just above her navel to down beyond her pant line. It was sort of like a bruise, only more… permanent. Harry couldn't explain it, but the closest thing he could compare it to was a birth mark.

"It hurts," she mumbled, prodding her stomach with her finger. "Inside. It hurts inside,"

Harry bit his lip and let out a long breath. "I know that you should be hesitant with these… potions," he began, carefully. "But we need to get on with this. Every moment we spend-"

"Is another minute in his pocket," Ginny concluded for him. Without more than a slight hesitation at her mouth, she uncorked and downed the potion. She continued with the other two and smacked her lips, laying the empty phials to the right.

"Better?" Harry asked cautiously.

Ginny shrugged. "I don't feel as dizzy now," she offered. "Maybe after I eat something I'll feel a little better,"

Harry wholeheartedly agreed. He reached into the bag and withdrew a can of peaches. "We need to ration these. I'm not terribly hungry," a complete lie on his part, but Ginny needed energy more than he did, "So you start, and if you're full or… as close to it, hand it back to me. Finish it off if you have to," he tapped the lid with his wand to open the seal and handed it to Ginny.

They sat in silence as she dipped her fingers into the strange syrupy liquid to fetch a peach. She'd gotten halfway through when she asked, "Are you sure you aren't hungry,"

Harry nodded. "I'm fine. You need it more,"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "That isn't what I asked. I want to know if you're hungry,"

Harry shrugged. "Seriously, just eat it if you're hungry."

Ginny glared at him and stuck out the can towards him. "Eat." she commanded.

Harry pushed the can back. "Not hungry," he insisted.

Ginny sniffed and closed the can, putting it back in the bag. "Sounds good then,"

"You aren't seriously going to stop yourself from eating because I'm not hungry," said Harry in disbelief. "You need food, you need your energy back!"

"The potions gave that energy back," she countered. "I'm fine. Now, let's read that letter,"

She reached forward and removed the roll of parchment from the bag. Harry, in the meantime, took the half-empty can of peaches and dug in, much to Ginny's satisfaction.

"Says a load of rubbish about a clock ticking faster," she summarized, skimming through the wordings. "Oh,"

"What is it?" Harry asked while chewing.

"Voldemort's taken over the Ministry," she said quietly.

Regretfully Uncaring

Chapter 34: The Lord of the Lake

Harry felt all the hair on his body stand on end as multiple pops of apparition were heard throughout the open field. Ginny's eyes widened and Harry shot to his feet, waving his wand to seal the duffle bag while levitating it up to his left hand.

"It's them!" cried one of the Death Eaters. There were four in total, each wore a bone-white mask.

Harry wasn't going to stick around any longer. Unbeatable wand or not, this was not a fight he could take without injury.

"Run!" he cried, hoping Ginny would follow.

And she did. They ran into the forest, spells shooting over their heads as they ducked and weaved through miles of trees and shrubbery. Ginny nearly tripped over a fallen log, missing it by inches.

"Transform so you can outrun them, I'll start fighting back!" Harry instructed.

Ginny scoffed. "Like hell," she ducked under a low-hanging branch and waved her hand in an attempt to transfigure it into something more useful.

Nothing happened.

"My magic is still acting up!" she told Harry through breaths. The pounding footsteps and whizzing of magic were right behind them. Harry was faster than Ginny. He was taller and stronger. He was slowing himself down to stay in line with her. They were going to be captured, easily.

"Just transform! I can run faster than this!" Harry shouted.

Harry heard Ginny swallow and a blinding flash of white later, there now stood a fox. Low to the ground and running as fast as possible.

Harry quickened his pace. The forest was climbing a hill, and Harry was still following Ginny. The spells being thrown at them were of angrier shades of orange and mauve. He was running out of their gracious attitudes. If one of those spells hit him, he was done for.

A large explosion was heard from somewhere off to his right. Perhaps a stray spell, he didn't know.

He could smell something burning, however. A fire was spreading through the forest. Luckily, England was frequented by rain, so the fire didn't have much to catch and spread.

Though of course, these were cursed flames, so Harry highly doubted that simple chemistry would stop its course.

Harry reached the top of the hill and saw the fox running back towards him. There were four other Death Eaters behind her.

They were surrounded.

"Ginny!" Harry cried in shock as she jumped, transformed mid-air, and grabbed him by the shoulders.

Just as Harry thought he was going to hit the ground; he felt the telltale unfortunate sensation of apparition. As though he was being squeezed through a tube.

The apparition lasted for a very long time. Wherever it was they were going was far away.

The air composition changed, Harry could smell the sea, and his back finally collided with the ground. Ginny sprawled on top of him, sliding over his head and down behind him with the momentum she'd carried prior to their apparition.

Harry groaned and felt for his ribs. None of them pained him to the touch, so he leant forward and shook his head of the twigs and leaves that had embedded themselves in his hair.

He looked around. They were in a field; its grass was overgrown. There were ruins of a large manor home to his right. It all seemed and smelled vaguely familiar. Like waking up from a dream and debating whether or not what had just happened in your head was real.

"Where are we?" Harry asked as he slowly got to his feet, cracking his neck to ease away the pain of the fall.

Ginny came to stand next to him. "We're supposed to be at the cave… but this…"

Then it hit him. The smell of the sea, the familiarity of everything. He didn't recognize it because, for all he knew, this wasn't his home.

The more he paid attention to his surroundings, however, the more he began to understand.

The grass wasn't overgrown, it had just never been this long thanks to Floppy and Flappy's keeping. The topiaries had burned away, which was why the garden seemed so unrecognizable.

This was Potter Manor. Or at least, what remained of it.

The gazebo where he'd had the most productive conversation of his life with Mrs. Weasley was also gone, a pile of ashes in a solitary clearing.

"No… no, no, no," Harry mumbled, running towards the destroyed home of his ancestors. "Flappy!" he called. "Floppy!"

No elf answered his summons. He could hear Ginny behind him, searching through the ruins.

The stone foundations were all that was left, and even that had crumbled somewhat. The upper floors had collapsed into the lower ones. The grand staircase, which had been made completely out of wood, was gone entirely.

Harry reached the kitchen and sank to his knees. The family clock the Potters owned was cracked and destroyed. Harry's hand pointed to lost, while the Marauder's, including Pettigrew and his mother, pointed to traveling.

Ginny came to sit next to him on the ash-covered floor. "There's a spell… to check for any organic bodies," she said slowly.

Harry nodded for her to continue, and she did so. Repeating the incantation to Harry until he had it down, he raised the Elder Wand and scanned the remains for any deaths.

He got two readings. They both came from right in front of him.

Two separate, small piles of ash lay near the door. Presumably, Floppy and Flappy, because Harry refused to believe that it was Sirius or Remus, had died trying to escape the inferno.

"I'd have buried them," Harry whispered, grabbing a handful of the ashes. "I suppose I can't do that now,"

Ginny nodded, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You can scatter them. Let them breathe new life into the soil,"

Harry was struck by a sudden memory. Shortly after his arrival at the manor, Floppy had told him something.

"One day, I wish to sail," said Floppy with a longing smile.

"Like… on a boat?" Harry asked, confused.

"Oh yes," Floppy continued. "And see the worlds. You would have to come with us, obviously, but it could be quite fun!"

"In the sea," Harry concluded, coming out of his memory. "We'll scatter them in the sea."

Ginny took a handful of the right pile, and Harry took a handful of the left.

They walked away from the ruins, through the scorched grounds, and arrived at the cliff on the sea's edge.

Harry took a deep breath before throwing the pile of ashes into the water. Ginny mirrored his actions with hers.

The wind picked them up and swirled them about, but Harry paid no mind. He watched them sink lower and lower on the horizon until finally, they reached the waves.

"They'd like that, I think," said Ginny quietly.

Harry nodded. He knew they would have.

A cool breeze ran up Harry's spine and forced a shiver out of him. It was only early August, yet here they were, standing on the edge of a cliff with clouded, grey skies.

Harry folded his arms across his chest and waited for a moment, letting the silence stretch on. "How did they find us?" he asked. "The Death Eaters. How did they find us?"

Ginny sighed. "I should have known he'd do that the minute he took over the Ministry," she muttered. "He did it in the dream, when he took the Ministry. It's called a taboo. You say his preferred name, and your location is revealed, all protective enchantments surrounding you fall. It's a trump card. It wins everything. You can't counter it, other than saying a different name."

Harry scowled. "That's ridiculous. How can magic like that even exist?"

Ginny shrugged. "Magic knows no bounds. Only the witch or wizard who insists on using them can determine whether or not there should be limits,"

Harry nodded to her logic. "So, we can't call him by his little nickname…" he trailed off. "I suppose calling him Tom would only piss him off further. I'm surprised he didn't taboo that one,"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, well, there are lots of Tom's. Can't have Death Eaters showing up every time someone orders a pint at the Leaky,"

Harry chuckled at the thought. "Fair,"

They lapsed into silence again. "We should leave," Ginny said after a while. "This is the first place they'll expect us to go… and I'm exhausted,"

Harry sighed and agreed. The potions had helped, but her recovery was nowhere near complete. They set out through the forest that surrounded his old home. He looked over to the Quidditch pitch longingly. "I wish we had brooms,"

Ginny nodded. "I was going to try out this year,"

"Yeah, you would've been great,"

"You reckon there's any chance the brooms survived?" she asked pleadingly.

Harry shook his head. "If it disintegrated bones… I don't think a wooden broom would last more than a few seconds,"

Ginny nodded, sighing in acceptance as they continued their walk into the woods, away from Potter Manor forever.

Fife, for the most part, was relatively bare of trees. The forest surrounding Potter Manor was the one and only exception, and Harry had a sneaking suspicion that they had been placed there magically. Crail was close to another village, Kingsbarns. Harry had never been, but as he and Ginny climbed a small hill, the town came into view.

Now that Voldemort was in power, and had placed a taboo on his own name, Harry didn't think it wise to make their presence known in any form of civilization, big or small.

St. Andrews was the closest proper town from Potter Manor, but it would probably take three to four hours on foot, if they chose to stay away from roads.

There was a pressing question on Harry's mind, now, however.

"Hey Ginny," he began hesitantly.

She turned to face him, waiting patiently for Harry to continue. Even with her small stature, she'd been able to keep up with him without complaint.

"In the cell you mentioned something about being the key…" Harry continued. "You told me you'd explain it to me some other time…"

Ginny scowled. "It's a part of a prophecy. Tom tried to activate it within the dream, and I don't know if he did or not."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "What did the prophecy say?"

"First in Seven, First of seven. She rises as the sword falls. Born to those lesser with the power to conquer them all, she is the key, the key to it all. First in seven. First of seven." she recited, as though reading from a book.

"So, essentially, my life is out of my hands, and I've just got to sort of play along," she grumbled.

Harry sighed. "That's not how it works. Believe me, I know,"

"What?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Remember? Before Charlie... I explained the prophecy that had bound me to this... fate, I suppose,"

Ginny's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Oh, right... sorry... I'd forgotten." Ginny mumbled, her cheeks flushed.

"Lucky you," Harry muttered.

Ginny sighed. "It's just that... That was a long time ago and the way you'd brought it up felt so..."

"Irrelevant? Yeah, that's because I've tried to make sure it doesn't bother me." Harry explained. "The thing is… a prophecy is all up to interpretation."

Ginny waited for him to elaborate. Harry sighed and decided to keep on walking, as they'd yet to move from their spot atop the hill looking over Kingsbarns.

"Take your prophecy, for example. It says you are the key, the key to it all. Well, maybe that just mean that you're fantastic at wandless magic, and can transfigure any object, therefore making you the key to it all," Harry took in a deep breath. "The power to conquer them all, well, I mean, anyone can do that with enough perseverance."

Ginny let out a snort of laughter and Harry shook his head, smiling. "What I'm trying to say is that prophecies are deliberately vague. I don't know the wording behind mine, all I know is that it's the reason my parents are dead, and the reason You-Know-Who is still after me. For all I know, it could be completely obsolete. You-Know-Who is just interpreting it all wrong, or still holding a light to it like some divine intervention,"

Ginny sighed. "I hope you're right, Harry,"

They continued on foot for many hours. St. Andrews lay ahead, and the sun was slowly showing its own symptoms of fatigue as it began to set to the West.

They stumbled upon a tree, and Ginny asked if they could stop and rest for a while. Harry, drawing from his mother's magical memory thanks to the proximity to the full moon, set up some protective enchantments around the tree. No one would find them, hear them, or see them now.

Ginny laid her head back against the tree and closed her eyes.

She was met with a most surreal dream.

"Mrs. Edwards! Mrs. Edwards! Riddle's done it again!" cried Amy Benson. The sound of waves crashing against distant cliffs met Ginny's ears.

Amy was blonde with vibrant blue eyes. She was young, maybe seven or eight. Her hair billowing behind her.

Mrs. Edwards was a tall, beautiful woman. She seemed far too young to be working with an orphanage, much less dedicating her life to such a career. "Yes, Miss Benson?" she asked politely. All the children at the orphanage looked to Mrs. Edwards when they needed something. Whether it was help with their education, or perhaps some more trivial matter, all the children loved her.

She was the only kind caretaker there.

"He's… the animals," Amy said through shallow breaths. "He's killed them again! He threw one at me!"

Mrs. Edwards sighed and got to her feet. "Bring me to him,"

Amy led Mrs. Edwards through the fields of green. They came to the seaside once every year, but this year had been different. Edwards knew it.

She couldn't explain why, but there was a looming sense of dread that tickled the back of her neck when she thought about this year's little excursion.

Tom was sitting down, picking at the grass around his knees. There was indeed a dead rabbit nearby, but it seemed to have decayed somewhat. "Tom," Edwards asked gently, leaning over and resting on her haunches. "Did you kill that rabbit?"

Tom looked up from his absent picking of the grass. His eyes shot to Amy's over Edwards's left shoulder, and back to her. "Yes,"

Edwards sighed and sat down across from Tom proper. "Did you really?"

Tom, again, shot a look to Amy. "Yes,"

"Don't look at Amy, look at me," Edwards instructed.

Tom focused intently on her eyes.

"Did you kill that rabbit?"

Tom hesitated, his lips parted, he seemed to fight the urge to look towards Amy. "N-No, I didn't,"

Edwards smiled apologetically and stood up. "Miss Benson, I wonder how often I will have to reprimand you for lying."

Amy shrunk back in on herself, glaring at Tom. "You will leave Tom alone, do you understand?"

"Yes Mrs. Edwards," Amy replied, sniffling somewhat.

Shaking her head, Edwards stalked off.

Then, something very strange indeed began to affect the dream. Though, Ginny knew this was a memory, not a dream.

Tom's memory.

The landscape, the very fundamentals of the memory, were clouded over. All sound and light were dampened by a deep fog. The memory had been obscured. Tom had done something to hide the truth.

"One of these days you'll regret testing me," Tom's voice echoed through the strange, clouded memory. "One day, I'll show you what happens to those who upset me,"

Then, there was silence. Until it was quite suddenly shattered.

"Tom! Where are we going? It's a cliff over there! There's no way we could climb down it!" it was Amy's voice, high and shrill.

"Come on," Tom's voice resonated from the darkness. "You're not one to turn down an adventure, are you Benson?"

Ginny could hear the cracks of rock and the footsteps on gravel. She heard the sound of being stuck inside a cave. The cave.

Screaming. Horrible screaming rang out.

But why was the memory hidden? Why were only specific events and sounds being shown? Tom had never shown remorse. That must be what was forming this memory block.

Because that's what this was. There was a memory block in Tom's mind, that Ginny had now inherited. He was hiding something.

Ginny woke with a start to the sound of movement. Harry was asleep beside her, but something must have made that sound.

She whirled around and let out a quiet gasp.

A man with a cropped haircut stood not two meters away from her. His facial features seemed quite recognizable, but Ginny couldn't place them.

He had a wand in his left hand. His grey eyes swept the morning landscape tiredly. It was the grizzled appearance of a man keeping watch.

Ginny leaned over and prodded Harry awake. He groaned and stretched but she clamped a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. Even with the warded protection, Ginny wasn't sure they could be totally safe.

Harry's wide eyes relaxed when they recognized Ginny's and she blinked twice. Deliberately keeping the movement slow.

Harry repeated the motion, blinking twice and waiting.

She slowly took her hand away from his mouth and pointed over her shoulder.

Harry slowly sat up and turned to the area indicated. His eyebrows shot upwards at the sight of the man. He squinted and turned his head to the side. "He looks familiar," he whispered. His voice no louder than the breeze that permeated through the wards.

"I know," Ginny replied, equally hushed.

The cracking of twigs and the bristle of grass met her ears, and Ginny turned once more to face the man. He was walking away, tucking his wand into a thigh holster.

They waited with bated breath until the man had disappeared.

"Who was that?" Harry asked, comfortable with speaking normally. "I could have sworn I'd seen him before."

Ginny shrugged and got to her feet, brushing her filthy robes with her hands. "We'll need new clothes at some point." she pointed out.

Harry nodded. "We could do that now. Sooner rather than… well, later."

Ginny stared intently at him, waiting to see if he was making excuses. "We need to get on top of these Horcruxes…"

"I know," Harry sighed. "It's just that… well, it's hot, and transfiguration can only get you so far."

"Do we have any money?" Ginny asked. "Because I know I don't,"

Harry flushed somewhat. "No, I don't… how do you think I got the food for us before we found this bag?" Harry shrugged his shoulder, which had the duffle bag slung over it.

"Stealing?" Ginny asked incredulously.

Harry nodded. "It's sort of… well, it is what it is,"

Ginny frowned. "Did you check the bag for any money?"

Harry's eyes bulged and he slapped his palm to his forehead. "I hadn't even thought of that! Honestly, at this rate, you're my voice of reason,"

He was in the midst of lowering the bag to the ground when he froze. "Voice of reason," he mumbled.

"What?"

Harry shook himself, frowning deeply. "Nothing," he said, coughing as he dropped the bag to the ground proper.

He opened the bag and looked inside. "Check the pockets too," Ginny told him.

"I know," he snapped.

Ginny frowned, confused. "Is everything alright?"

Harry stilled his motions. "Yes," he replied curtly, continuing his search of the bag.

"You're acting very… strange," Ginny continued.

"Would you stop it?" Harry asked bitterly. "Just… stop."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up; she folded her arms over her chest. "Alright,"

Harry searched the rest of the bag in silence. Occasionally letting out a frustrated sigh. Ginny chose to ignore him, walking towards the tree and plopping down again.

Eventually, she heard him whisper to himself. "Finally," and pulled out a small envelope.

He broke the seal in peered inside. "Muggle currency. Couple hundred pounds, I reckon!"

Ginny had to do the mental work to remind herself that muggle currency in Britain was the same word as her weight. "That's a lot, isn't it?"

Harry nodded; his foul mood seemingly forgotten. "Yeah. Come on,"

So, they set out for the town of St. Andrews, right over the hill.

The walk took about half an hour. Ginny had quickly transfigured their robes to be shorter and look like more of a light jacket than anything. It wasn't comfortable, and didn't look particularly fashionable, but it would do for the time being. They were still heavy, however, causing the two of them to sweat profusely.

The town was large enough to be familiar to Ginny, who had grown up near a small town herself. Finding a shop that sold clothes was rather simple. Harry made sure to speak with as few people as possible.

"But that would be even more strange!" Ginny insisted. "Think about it, the less we talk to people, the more we'll stand out."

Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "it's a double-edged sword. The more we talk, the more we stick out in people's minds. The less we talk, the more recognizable we'll be. It's a shit scenario either way, but not talking is easier,"

Ginny had to admit that no matter what they did, they would probably leave a trail.

They quickly purchased some shirts, a few pairs of pants and, on Harry's insistence, sunglasses. Ginny's undergarments still fit, and Harry had already thrown in a pair of boxers, so by the time they'd finished their rounds of purchases, they were set.

They stored the extra clothing in their bags, and used a café's lavatory to change, before sitting down on a bench to eat a can of beans, which they shared.

"How much pounds do we have left?" Ginny asked.

Harry smirked at her failure in muggle vocabulary. "Erm, well," he took out the envelope and counted it all out. It was all made up of ten-pound notes. "Two-hundred and thirty,"

"That's plenty," Ginny said, mostly to herself.

They ate in silence.

"Did I do something?" Ginny asked. "You seem off,"

Harry swallowed a mouthful of beans. "No,"

Ginny frowned. "You acted all weird on the hill, and now you don't initiate conversation,"

"I'm fine,"

"Well, I know you're fine, but you're treating me like something's wrong. Did you find something in the bag you aren't telling me about? What's happened?"

Harry dropped his spoon into his can of beans in frustration. "If you had done something, I'd have told you. I just don't want to talk. Which, in my opinion, is fine! So please, just… if I'm quiet, I'm sorry. That's how it's going to be."

Ginny furrowed her brows but remained silent, thinking on her dream the night prior. There had been a few things that stuck out to her. Most of which were things Harry probably wanted to know, but he didn't want to talk.

Well, he'd just have to suck it up.

"I had a dream last night," she began. "But it was more of a memory. It's one of Tom's… from when he was a child,"

Harry sat up straight and waited for her to continue.

"There was the girl, his first victim. Amy Benson. She tattled on Tom and ran to the caretaker, Mrs. Edwards,"

"Edwards?" Harry asked, making a connection Ginny hadn't.

Ginny halted her explanation. "I doubt it has anything to do with Elizabeth. It isn't exactly a rare surname,"

Harry nodded. "Yeah… but still,"

"Besides, even if they are related, the woman was in her mid-twenties and this memory was from sometime in the thirties. She's probably dead. If she isn't, I doubt Elizabeth knows her…"

"But she might," Harry insisted. "Crail isn't far from here. We could always walk back!"

Ginny shook her head. "We're here for a reason,"

"What?" asked Harry.

"I apparated here for a reason, Harry."

"I thought you just meant to go to Potter Manor!" said Harry.

Ginny shook her head. "I meant to go to the cave,"

"What cave?"

"The cave where Tom first felt free. The place he first used magic on… people. Properly." Ginny explained. "The orphanage he lived in used to come up here once a year as a bit of a trip. Don't know why. It isn't exactly close to London… anyway, it's where I think he might've hidden a Horcrux."

"Then why did you take us to Potter Manor?" Harry asked

"Because… I ran out of energy three-quarters the way through the apparition. The cave is… apparently… very close to your house." Ginny ran a hand through her hair as she finished off the can of beans. "It was completely by accident,"

Harry swallowed his final mouthful and tapped his hand on his thigh. "Where is it," he whispered.

"A bit farther south. I think…"

Harry stood abruptly and waited for Ginny to follow. "Then let's go."

Ginny, beginning to accept Harry's curt behaviour, nodded and followed after him. The streets were bustling with muggles. A few of them tried to catch their attention, but Harry and Ginny did nothing more than smile and nod in their direction.

"That man… on the hill this morning. He was carrying a wand," Harry muttered out the corner of his mouth, passing a lamppost.

Ginny nodded. "Still don't have any clue who he was?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope. At first, I thought…" he hesitated. "Well, with a different haircut I would have said he looked a bit like Sirius,"

Ginny's eyebrows shot up. "We haven't seen Sirius in months. It's possible he got a haircut…"

Harry shook his head. "Sirius doesn't have that many scars. Besides… the more I think about it, the more I realize the nose is all wrong,"

"But it was a wizard!" Ginny insisted. "That's got to mean something."

"Friend or foe?" Harry countered. "The old man in the alleyway… he said we'd meet friend, then foe. We haven't formally met him, so he could be the latter,"

Ginny had to accept that in the end. They couldn't trust anyone, no matter how friendly they may seem.

"We could ask someone?" she offered. "Ask a town member if they know the man in the hills."

Harry shook his head. "I want to know who it is, but I don't want people to remember us looking for someone. The first thing the death eaters will do is go and seek this person out. We don't want to paint a target on the back of some stranger's head."

Ginny nodded, agreeing with what he was saying, and took the lead to the cave.

They exited the town and climbed the hills again, coming to the plateau above the cliffs. "It's close!" she called to Harry over her shoulder. "I can feel it," and she could. It was like some horrible slime was climbing up her insides. The familiarity of the location forced a shiver out of her.

"Why did they come all the way up here if the orphanage was in London?" Harry asked, repeating part of the conversation they'd had earlier.

Ginny thought for a moment, sorting through the years of memories stored in her mind. It was all so… similar. None of it felt disjointed. She only knew how to separate the two lives because in one, she felt emotion, while in the other, there was nothing but cold.

"The woman, caretaker, whoever… the one all the children liked. Mrs. Edwards… she grew up here. She was the one who started the seaside trips. They brought them here by train,"

Harry nodded. "That would explain why Elizabeth still lives around here. Maybe her dad's mum is this Mrs. Edwards woman,"

Ginny nodded. "It's possible!"

The crash of the waves nearly drowned out her voice. She could see the treeline where Tom had once led her out onto the cliffs. "It's… right…" they kept walking, and as the sense of dread washed over her like a bucket of cold ice, she knew she'd found it. "Right here,"

Harry nearly ran into her with her abrupt stop. "How the hell are we supposed to climb down there?" he asked.

Ginny felt like someone was watching her. She couldn't explain it, but she felt the need to check her surroundings.

She whirled around, inspecting every bush, every leaf, and blade of grass in the vicinity.

"What's wrong?" Harry's voice broke her concentration.

"I could have sworn I… never mind," she waved him off. "See that rock down there?" she pointed to a spot out in the waves where the low tide offered them an apparition point. "That's where I'll take us, then we have to swim,"

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm not the best swimmer,"

"Can you float?"

Harry scoffed. "Of course I can. Everyone can,"

"Then you're fine," Ginny affirmed, grabbing him by the wrist tightly, throwing one last look around, and turning on the spot.

They appeared on the sodden rock and nearly slipped. Ginny felt drained. She hadn't thought such a short distance would take so much out of her.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, concern lacing his voice. He refused to touch her. Pulling his hand away from hers as often as possible. She shook past the unnerving feeling that everything was wrong and forced herself to stand up tall.

"Swim," she instructed. Diving headlong into the water and making her way to the cave entrance.

The current propelled them towards the inlet, thankfully forcing Harry to remain on course. Open water swimming wasn't a strong suit for either of them, but at least Ginny knew how to do front crawl.

She clambered out of the water and onto the stone platform that rested in front of the cave. "Come on," she said, without waiting for Harry to follow.

As it had in the diary, once they entered the cave, all sound from the outside was drowned out.

"Lumos," Harry whispered, his wand light reflecting brilliantly off the smooth black stone.

"What's the story behind that wand?" Ginny asked absently, searching for a way further into the cave. All she'd found so far was a dead end and a nauseous feeling.

Harry shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "I'll explain it later… it's a long story,"

Ginny hadn't expected this answer, so she nodded and focused on the task at hand. When she walked towards the far wall, the nauseous feeling grew, so she figured this was the right direction.

Upon further reflection, it wasn't nausea. It was a sort of… temptation. Not something she wanted, but something she needed. Though she despised the fact that she'd need it.

Without thinking, she drew her wand and tried to summon a small, cracked stone from the floor into her hand. Nothing happened, and she stuffed the wand into her back pocket angrily.

"Still not working?"

Ginny shook her head. "I feel my magic stirring… it's just blocked somehow."

Harry walked up to where she was standing. "Is this it?" he asked, gesturing to the space around them. "Is this his great…" he interrupted himself. "Or is there more to it?"

Ginny walked close to the cave's wall. "Do you feel that?"

Harry stood next to her. "No, I don't,"

Ginny scowled and delicately placed her hand on the rock. "I'm going to try something… that would have worked on the things Tom had made in… in the diary,"

Harry nodded for her to continue.

Ginny took a deep breath and made sure her whole palm was resting flat on the rock. Then, she pushed, letting some magic through her hand and onto the stone's surface.

She removed her hand and waited. For a moment, she accepted that it wouldn't work. Part of her was happy that it didn't.

Then, of course, that all came crashing down. The rock let out a grinding sound as an archway appeared.

Ginny let out a shaky breath and took a step into the cave. It smelt of absolutely nothing. The air tasted like salt, and the space was completely and eerily silent.

"Come on, Harry," she said quietly. Her voice echoed around the new cavern as though she stood in a cathedral.

Harry stepped in and threw the light off the tip of his wand and through the air, lighting up a truly enormous cavern. A lake spread out before them. It was impossibly huge. At the center was a glowing green mist.

"There," Ginny mumbled. "That's where it is. I'm sure of it,"

She was still slightly concerned over the fact that Voldemort's magic had recognized her. Naturally, if she was living in the diary, it would know her. But this was the real world. How could his magic possibly accept hers?

Was the dream in the diary bleeding into the world around them? Or had Voldemort set this up somehow?

Shaking herself, she waited for some mode of transportation to appear. If the cave had accepted her, naturally it would grant her safe passage.

Again, the sense that someone was watching her crept up the back of her neck, and the hair on her arms stood on end. She turned around and saw only Harry, staring out over the lake with a resigned expression.

A low bubbling announced the arrival of a small, two-person boat. Rising from the depths eerily. "After you," Harry quipped, attempting to lighten the situation.

Ginny stepped in and waited for Harry to join her. The minute his foot touched the boat, it rocked unsteadily, and his left foot splashed in the water. The once perfectly still lake now had ripples flowing out to the right.

"Try not to touch the water," Ginny pleaded, as Harry stationed himself properly.

Harry nodded, clearly not having meant to disturb the surface of the lake.

The boat began its slow arduous journey to the center of the lake. The air seemed denser the closer they got to the center. Again, that temptation to do something was making Ginny scratch at her left arm.

"Shit!" Harry cried unexpectedly backing away from the side of the boat.

"What is it?"

"There was… I could've sworn I saw a face in the water," Harry explained, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Was probably my own reflection though, come to think of it,"

Ginny nodded. Something was building in the pit of her stomach now. She was close, well, the two of them were.

The boat bumped into the shore of the small islet. Harry got off first, then Ginny followed him. They climbed the slope up to where a small basin was located.

"There's a potion in here," Harry muttered. "Any way we can make that go away?"

Ginny bobbed her head from side to side. "Tom isn't one to make things easy. Even for himself. This is a piece of his soul we're talking about. Not some trivial item… Tom hates relying on things, people, whatever… if it's outside of his control, he hates it. So, seeing as this is outside of his control, I reckon the protections around it are going to be rather extreme,"

"I wish my mum would just answer so she could tell me what this potion is!" Harry fumed, tapping the side of the basin with his wand.

He stared intently at the potion, deep in thought. "I think I recognize it, though,"

Ginny waited for him to explain.

"Like, I've seen pictures of it and heard descriptions. I've never brewed it,"

"So… what's your guess?" Ginny asked.

"Draught of Living Death," Harry offered skeptically. "Except… well, that potion is a sort of, well it's a poison but depending on how you brew it, it won't kill or incapacitate, it'll just force you to live your worst memories and your worst fears."

Ginny shuddered. Her experience with potions as of late wasn't exactly a strong bout of encouragement for her to try this one.

Without even asking, without saying a word, Harry tipped the small crystal scoop into the potion and shoveled it in his mouth. He cringed and swallowed, dipping the scoop back into the potion and swallowing that as well.

"What are you doing!" Ginny shrieked, her sudden vocal intrusion echoing through the cavern.

"I'm making sure," Harry coughed, tears forming around his eyes, "That you don't have to relive anything," he dipped the scoop back into the potion and finished it off. Just as he was about to reach in and take a fourth, he collapsed against the basin. The scoop fell from his hands and clattered onto the smooth crystal surface of the manufactured islet.

Ginny stopped the scoop from falling into the murky depths of the lake and brought it back up to the basin, abandoning it to hold Harry.

"Harry? Talk to me, come on, whatever you're seeing isn't real," she insisted. Harry was crying silently, refusing to speak. He just shook his head.

"Next scoop," he pleaded. He seemed to have to wrench the words from the pit of his stomach.

Ginny blinked and nodded, standing to retrieve more of the potion. She brought it down to his lips, which parted to accept the potion. He still refused to show any emotion passed simply crying.

She got another scoop and another. On the seventh, Harry pushed her away. "No more. Please no more,"

Ginny stopped and nodded. "Okay. Okay, no more,"

Harry shook his head then, gripping her wrist. "We need to finish it. Don't listen to him!"

Ginny took a step back at the anger in his voice. "Do you want more?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry shook his head. "I need more. Need to finish it. Need to get the Horcrux!"

Ginny nodded, understanding what he meant. She got another scoop and had to force it down Harry's throat.

"Please. Not Ginny," he mumbled staring off into the distance as though looking at someone walking away. "Don't take Ginny. Take me!"

Ginny shook her head to dispel the constant barrage of theories invading her mind. She didn't know what Harry was on about.

On the twelfth scoop, Ginny could see the bottom. The beginnings of a chain reaching out from within the potion's impenetrable depths.

"Only one more to go, I promise!" she cried, forcing the potion into Harry's mouth.

He grabbed her wrist and stared at her wide-eyed. "Are you Ginny?" he asked.

Ginny nodded.

"Don't take her from me. Don't replace her. Please. She's all I've got left. Don't take her from me," he was pleading, tears streaming down his face. His grip slackened and he smacked his lips.

Ginny stood there in shock for a moment before getting up and scooping up the last of the potion. There was a locket in the middle. She didn't get a good look at it before forcing the last of the potion into Harry and casting the scoop aside, holding him by the shoulders.

"Don't replace her," he pleaded. "I need her. I need her as much as I need you,"

Ginny nodded, blinking past the tears that were inexplicably forming at the back of her eyes. "I won't replace her. Whoever it is… I won't replace her, I promise. I promise you, Harry."

"Good," he said, closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side. "I'd never forgive you if you did,"

His voice was cold, devoid of any emotion. Harry was serious. Whether the potion was forcing his hand or not, he was speaking what was on his mind. His greatest fear.

She couldn't replace her, because if she did, he'd never forgive her.

Who was 'her'?

"Water," Harry croaked. "I need water,"

Ginny nodded and looked around her, trying to figure out where she might find some. The lake was out of the question. She was certain that there was more to that than met the eye.

"Can you wait a bit longer?" Ginny asked hesitantly. "It's just… there's no way for me to get you any water,"

Harry sighed and nodded. "I can wait… I'll always be able to wait," he smiled up at her sadly.

Ginny nodded past her confusion and stood up, striding over to the basin. Again, she was hit with the sense that someone was watching her. She reached to the bottom and withdrew the locket.

Something was wrong with it.

Its glass doors seemed… empty. Ginny had worn this very locket in her dreams for a year. She knew what was missing.

"The snake," came a male voice from somewhere in the gloom. She didn't recognize it but instantly put her hands out in front of her as if that would do anything. She heard Harry scramble to his feet behind her, wand raised.

"Yes, the snake is missing. See, I knew he'd hidden a locket but… I hadn't known it was Slytherin's."

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Harry cried, his voice was weak, and he wobbled on his feet. The potion had taken far more out of him than he let on.

An object came flying towards them through the gloom. It appeared seemingly out of nowhere and landed perfectly at Harry's feet.

It was a muggle disposable water bottle.

"It's safe, don't worry." the man said, a hint of a smile in his voice. "Good on you for resisting the urge to touch the water,"

"'It's safe don't worry?'" Harry mocked. "Quite reassuring. Show yourself!"

A hand appeared out of thin air and slid an invisibility cloak off, revealing the man from that morning. The man with the wand who seemed to have been keeping watch.

Ginny would estimate him to be in his thirties, though on the unfortunate side of things, judging by the wrinkles and cropped haircut.

His grey eyes were particularly noticeable in the green light. "I'd like to know who you are, actually,"

Ginny rolled her shoulders and clenched her fists. It was the best defense she had at the moment. Her magic was still weak wandlessly, and she couldn't use her wand, so she figured muggle dueling was her best bet.

"In for a fight, I suppose," the man asked, waving his wand and conjuring a chair to sit on. He sat back in it, its wooden beams creaked.

"You," the man inquired, pointing to Harry, "Look like someone I knew," he turned to Ginny. "But you seem to be your own thing… wait, no, I see the resemblance now… are you a Prewett?"

Ginny shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "My mum is,"

The man's eyebrows shot up and he nodded slowly. "A Weasley then,"

"That's quite the leap," said Harry threateningly. "Do you really not know us? Or are you putting this on for show,"

The man rolled his eyes. "It isn't a leap, Potter, because there was only one female Prewett who was of any age to give birth, judging by your appearance," he gestured to Ginny, "sixteen-ish years ago."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. She hadn't yet turned fourteen.

"Then how do you know I'm a Potter?" Harry asked defiantly.

"Because with an attitude like that, you can't not be. Oh, and you've got your mum's eyes. Knew her in school," he shrugged Harry off. "I want to know what the two of you are doing here, and why you're so very terrible at breaking into Tom Riddle's sanctuaries,"

The use of 'Tom Riddle' immediately set alarm bells off in Ginny's mind. "How do you know his name?"

The man sighed. "I think that fact that I'm here can speak for itself. None other than those who know of Tom Riddle could find this cave."

Ginny frowned in confusion. "If you knew Tom Riddle… then how old are you?"

"Thirty-four," the man answered immediately.

Ginny prided herself on her estimation of the man's age and angled her head to the side. "So, you didn't know him?"

"Oh, I did," said the man, extending his left arm forward to show a deep gash that had been scarred over.

Harry's wand arm, which had slackened somewhat from the strain of holding it up in his exhausted state, re-extended, pointing straight at the man's head. "You're a death eater, he can track you,"

The man sighed and dropped his left arm. "I was a death eater. That changed when I drank that" he pointed to the basin. "The dark mark peeled right off. It didn't recognize me anymore, because, technically, I'd died,"

"Excuse me?" Harry asked incredulously.

"You, Something Potter, are no longer 'alive' according to how the Ministry sees it, and therefore, how the Dark Lord sees it," the man explained, smiling. His smile immediately chimed in Ginny's mind as something she could recognize anywhere, but she waited for him to finish. "The dark mark uses the same spells and enchantments as the Ministry does to locate underaged wizards, or how owls find their target. That potion, which you correctly identified - five points to whatever house you're in – has sort of… reset your magic."

"Rewritten it?" Harry prodded, evidently thinking of Narcissa Malfoy. Ginny wondered if Bill had gotten around to doing that yet.

"No, no that is a far more complex concept that only the most talented of curse breakers can even begin to wrap their heads around, no," he leaned forward in his chair and locked his fingers together. "I am talking about a potion that masks who you are for a long while. It takes your magic and encloses it. Forcing even the strongest occlumens to live their worst nightmares. It fades after a while, I'm sure you've noticed your strength returning to you, but the point is, the potion hid my magic for so long, that my dark mark left my body," the man finished.

Ginny crossed her arms. "Why did you drink it if you're such a loyal follower of Tom's?"

The man scoffed. "Loyalty, or blindness. Either way, I broke free of it and came to destroy him. Finish him once and for all." he pulled a flask from the inside of his jacket and took a swig. " 'course, that didn't work out so well,"

Harry lowered his wand and changed his stance. "Who the hell are you?" he asked, absolutely bewildered.

"Open the locket, sweetheart," the man said, pointing to the loose fake in Ginny's hand.

She brought it up and opened the doors. Inside was a note.

Ginny took it out and read it 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." Ginny's head shot up. "I take it you're R.A.B?"

The man stretched his arms out wide. "The very same. And I do think that note needs a bit of revision. For instance, when the inferi crawled out of the lake and came for me, they didn't recognize me as alive? Because the potion was still taking its effect on me," he seemed as confused by his answer as Harry and Ginny were.

"Then I sort of sat here, dehydrated as all hell but there was no possible way that I'd be tempted to reach into the lake," he pointed to the dark lake beyond which, if his story was to be taken as fact, contained inferi. "So, I took the boat back. Weak, and practically unable to move. I got up, stretched my legs, and slept on the rocks for a few hours,"

"I'm sorry, you can't be serious," Ginny interrupted; her face one of humorous disbelief. "This is the most ridiculous escape story I've ever heard! Do you know what me and Harry had to do to get out of Tom's cellar? It was practically impossible. I did nothing but sleep for A MONTH afterward and you have the gall to claim that all you did was sneak back out? Why didn't you go to Dumbledore? Why didn't you alert the Order?"

"Because sometimes there are more important things,"

"Like what?" Harry asked incredulously. "The world could have known about Tom's Horcruxes for years and all you did was sit around and… what? Farm?"

"Like keeping watch over the only known location in Britain that Riddle frequents. Like keeping tabs on the workings of the world. Like deciphering the next possible location for his other Horcruxes. There's a lot, a lot you don't know about me!"

"Then start with your name," Harry demanded. "Tell us your bloody name."

Ginny had sort of known, prior to the man's mouth opening, what his name would be. She had seen it in his smile and in his eyes. The similarity was too difficult to ignore.

"Regulus Arcturus Black."

There was a long-prolonged silence. The sound of water dripping from hanging stalactites was the only sound prevailing through the gloom.

"Sirius's dead brother," Harry deadpanned.

Regulus sighed. "Goes without saying that you know my brother," he sighed again. "Listen, I- "

"Where the fuck have you been," Harry growled, his hand tightening around his wand. Ginny lowered her fists finally and stared at the impossibility before her. "Do you have any idea what Sirius has been through? Any idea at all?"

"That he was sent to Azkaban? That he escaped for the exact same reason that he was locked up in the first place?" Regulus countered.

"And what's that?" Harry spat.

"Revenge. My brother is obsessed with revenge. Dedicated his entire life to it. Fighting the dark arts, fighting death eaters. It was revenge against my mother's ways, then it was revenge against Severus, then it was revenge against Cissy, and then it was revenge against Peter but where did that get him? Azkaban."

"You knew," Harry muttered. "You knew he was innocent?"

"Of course not you belligerent fool!" Regulus retorted. "Riddle never had any of his servants see the full picture. No one knew the full ranks. No one knew who the spies for us were, and who were the spies for them. We were all in the dark. For all I knew, Sirius could have joined as a last-ditch attempt to save someone close to him. Whether that was Amelia Bones or Dorcas Meadows, I didn't know. But when that article showed up in The Prophet I was just as surprised as the rest of the world. But you know what? I accepted it. Because betrayal isn't that far off in the Black family line, which my existence so aptly points out. Besides, I didn't learn about your parents' passing for almost a month after their deaths. I don't get owl post…"

Ginny could tell that if Harry had any of his usual strength with him, he would have pummelled Regulus right then and there.

"Then tell me… where have you been," Harry repeated.

Regulus stared intently at Harry for a long while before he got to his feet abruptly. "Let me show you,"

He turned around and walked down the smooth stone ramp until he got to the water's edge. The boat was there, only it seemed longer this time. Regulus got in, and Harry and Ginny followed.

"How did you get here without the boat?" Ginny asked.

"I didn't," answered Regulus. "I summoned it back to me while you two were downing the potion."

"Couldn't have gotten me to stop drinking then, huh?" Harry mumbled bitterly as the boat left the graveled beach and set out on the return journey.

"Had to make sure you two weren't Riddles pawns. Something I would have been a bit more skeptical about had you two not carried those surnames," Regulus smirked. "So, you said you escaped from Riddle's dungeon…"

And so, Ginny spoke. Explaining with as little detail as possible their time spent in the cellar of the Riddle House. Throughout the entire venture, Harry remained silent.

They had gotten off the boat and made their way to the cave's exit. Ginny was in the midst of explaining the old man and the duffle bag when Harry interrupted her. "What about Kreacher?"

Regulus frowned. "He's still alive?"

Harry shrugged. "I haven't got a clue, but he would have been alive while you were stuck in here. Elves can get through pretty much any wards."

Regulus raised an eyebrow. "Remember that reset I told you about? How whatever you were bound to magically is sort of erased while the potion mimics your magical death?"

Harry nodded.

"That includes house elves. They're bound to your magic. My magic was blocked; therefore, the bond is gone. It's the same concept as the dark mark, really, just tweaked… It's also why my name wouldn't show up on any next-of-kin documents. My magic vanished for long enough to declare me dead on those, so the lordship was left to Sirius,"

Harry folded his arms over his chest, irritated that he hadn't found a way around Regulus's logic.

Ginny's mind was now working furiously to determine why they hadn't thought of using Harry's elves to escape the cellar.

Then again, considering the fact that there hadn't been any elves at The Riddle House, it was possible that Voldemort had warded against them.

She knew that Harry was frustrated on Sirius's behalf, and quite frankly, she agreed. But she was magically exhausted, weak, and needed to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Instead of swimming out, Regulus led the way up the cliff face. Using his wand to light up the hand and footholds for Harry and Ginny to see.

Ginny let Harry go up first, telling him that seeing as he was weakened physically, she wanted to make sure he didn't miss anything. Truthfully, both of them weren't in the best of condition and could have easily died, but they slowly made it up the cliff without too much difficulty. If they had been muggles, the climb would have been impossible.

They reached the plateau above the cliff and Ginny stretched her arms up over her head, fighting the urge to yawn.

"I'm assuming one of you can apparate," Regulus spoke conversationally.

"Yeah, but I can't do it again. Much less to a place I haven't been." Ginny replied.

Regulus nodded and offered his hands to the two of them. "I'll direct you two, just hold on,"

Harry and Ginny both grabbed hold of Regulus's hands firmly. Harry, a bit harsher than usual. "Merlin, you have a strong grip," Regulus noted to Harry, before turning on the spot.

They arrived with a nearly imperceptible pop on a lane etched through the hills of a large field of grain. Ginny turned around to see where they'd traveled to and was met with the sight of a small cottage farmhouse.

Harry let go of Regulus's hand and had that worn, stern expression on his face. Ginny bit her lip and took a step closer to him, hoping that he'd feel a bit more comfortable.

Yes, she was doing it for her own comfort as well, but that was beside the point.

When Harry pulled away, and started walking towards the cottage, however, Ginny was met with a cold sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't understand why Harry was pulling away. Both mentally and, evidently, physically.

It was strange to think that she'd woken up laying on top of him a few weeks ago. Harry had gone from best friend to awkward, moody teenager in a matter of hours.

Ginny walked on after him, followed closely by Regulus. Harry was waiting by the door, tapping his foot impatiently.

Regulus fiddled with a key ring and picked out a large silver one. Harry shivered at the sight of it. The memory of the silver blade digging into his skin caused a sort of ghost pain to shoot through his arm.

The door creaked open, and Regulus led them inside. Ginny followed in after Harry.

"I haven't been doing nothing, just so you're well aware," he said as he gestured to the longest stretch of wall in the house.

It was covered from floor to ceiling with photographs, sketches, notes, and various objects in muggle plastic bags. There was red string connecting certain photographs to others. Mugshots of various death eaters, old muggle CCTV footage of certain members of Voldemort's cult.

It was extensive. Easily twenty years' worth of information. "This is where I've been, Potter," Regulus finished, letting the evidence wall speak for itself.

"So, you knew about Horcruxes," said Ginny, barely above a whisper. "You knew this whole time and didn't think to go and tell Dumbledore,"

Regulus snorted. "There's no way in hell that Dumbledore himself didn't know about Horcruxes."

"He had theories, nothing concrete," Harry defended, using the same explanation Dumbledore had used on him over a year prior.

"To prove a theory, you must test it. What was he doing for those ten years? Before Riddle was active again? Did he know where Riddle was? Because I did… I knew," Regulus pointed to himself.

"Then why not share your knowledge? Why not save dozens of lives? Why couldn't you have simply shared this information so that certain people didn't have to suffer from the consequences of his little trinkets still being out there!?" Harry roared. "Your insistence on doing this alone has led to so much pain,"

Ginny let out a long breath, knowing that Harry was speaking about her.

"You think I didn't share any of my discoveries? How do you think Dumbledore knew where Riddle was hiding? How do you think Dumbledore knew to check Albania? Because I checked Albania, looking for a diadem," Ginny stiffened, "but it wasn't there. Do you know what was? A pile of animal bones, stretching for miles. It was mass grave. He'd been possessing them for years, but inconsequential critters like that weren't nearly enough to contain his power. I knew what I was seeing, and I left immediately. The number of anonymous letters I wrote to Dumbledore about Riddle's whereabouts is ridiculous. Don't pretend you have any stretch of an understanding of what I've done over the years,"

Ginny couldn't help it. She laughed. "You sat in here, sending anonymous letters and tracking a load of artifacts, with absolutely nothing to show for your struggles, and ask us, two people who have probably suffered the most out of any of our year from Riddle, to show compassion for your efforts." Ginny spat. "So, I'll repeat Harry's question. Where were you when Tom Riddle's Diary was slipped into my cauldron at Flourish and Blott's."

Regulus stared at her, speechless.

"Because he's a bloody coward," Harry growled from the corner. His back to the others. "Just like his brother,"

Ginny frowned. Harry had never spoken ill of Sirius.

"You're condemned to something. Whether that's a life sentence to Azkaban or your own death at the hands of an army of the dead, you were both condemned to something." Harry began. "So you give up. Oh, don't get me wrong, you convince yourself you're doing something. That you're busy, that you're working toward a larger goal," he pointed to the wall of gathered evidence. "But you're making excuses for yourself because, one, you're embarrassed. You're embarrassed because you went ahead and joined Riddle even when Sirius told you not to. You were determined to prove him wrong and your existence and, apparently life's work, proves that you were in fact, in the wrong, and no matter how hard you work in the other direction, your pride has taken a hit."

"That has nothing-"

"Second, you're afraid. You're afraid to go out into the world and confront your mistakes, and the consequences of them. You're ashamed of yourself and have worked tirelessly to prove that you're a good person. Which, alright, but again, it doesn't justify hiding for so long,

"So in the end, just as Sirius hid away in his prison, ashamed, embarrassed, and afraid, causing me ten years of neglect, pain, and depression; you have caused years of confusion, pain, death, and inadvertently allowed Riddle to rise again. Are the consequences of your actions greater? Depends on how you look at it," Harry hadn't let up in his rant and only now took a deep breath, "But I'm willing to forgive all that if you take us there,"

Ginny furrowed her brows and looked to where Harry was pointing.

On the wall, where the strings all seemed to connect, was a single slip of parchment. In the top right corner was a symbol depicting a triangular eye. The inscription on the note read, 'The Peverell Chamber'.

Regulus shifted on his feet. "It may have already been infiltrated by The Dark Lord. He may have already replaced it."

"Quit making excuses," Harry snapped. "It's a shot, and it's worth it,"

Regulus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you're coming with me to find a Horcrux, I need to know more about the two of you,"

Ginny opened her mouth to make sure he knew well and clear that he wouldn't be hearing anything about her, her family, her past, or anything in between, but Harry had her covered.

"You don't need to know a thing other than this. I'm a werewolf, and Ginny can't use her wand," Harry spoke high and clear.

Regulus scowled but nodded. "Do you have wolfsbane?"

Harry shook his head. "None,"

Regulus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right, okay… you aren't in contact with Sirius, are you?"

"Not now we aren't," Ginny replied. "We can't afford to contact any family members. They'll only pull us away from the task at hand…"

"Hang on," Ginny continued, interrupting herself. "What happened to the real Horcrux in the cave?"

"Kreacher took it. I told him to destroy it," Regulus nodded in her direction. "I don't know if he managed it, but in theory, it's accounted for, as he probably hid it back at home," Regulus frowned suddenly. "I can't… say the name of my home. My childhood home…" he smacked his lips repeatedly. "Someone's put a fidelius on my home,"

Ginny, truthfully, figured it was Sirius who'd protected the house, but didn't bother mentioning it to the group seeing as it was relatively obvious.

"What's the plan for the full moon then?" Regulus asked tiredly.

Harry pointed to Ginny, who quickly transformed into her animagus form, and switched back. "That's the plan."

Regulus nodded. "Just make sure it's far from here," he yawned and Harry and Ginny both looked out the window, shocked to see the sun was setting.

"Well, thank you… erm, Regulus, we'll… be around," said Harry awkwardly. He strode over to the front door and Regulus scoffed. "What?" Harry asked.

"Just that you honestly think I'm going to let you go out there. Unprotected, and in plain sight?"

"We tricked you," Ginny pointed out, "This morning. You were just standing there,"

"I could feel the wards," Regulus smirked. "But, otherwise, good job on concealing yourselves." he arched his back and rolled his shoulders. "You two can sleep on these sofas," he gestured to the supposed sitting room across the hall from where they stood. "I'm upstairs. Don't go up there," he warned, before climbing the steps and leaving both Harry and Ginny behind, thoroughly confused.

There was something off about Regulus. His house, and everything in between. His story didn't check out, and his existence left far too many holes in what Harry and Ginny knew of the past fifteen years. He was hiding something.

"Do you believe his story? About how he escaped the cave?" Harry asked, keeping his eyes firmly on the floor.

"No," Ginny let out a long breath. "But I do believe his motivations. I don't care how he really got out of there. He's here now, and he's our best bet at tracking Tom."

Harry nodded and made his way over to the sitting room without even looking at her. She couldn't understand his behaviour. This morning, he just froze and began to treat her like some grain of dirt on his shoe. Then, he'd flip back and forth between normal Harry, and this aggravated Harry all day.

Then, in the cave, he went on about how he'd never forgive her if she replaced… who? Who was he so desperately attached to that the thought of leaving her was his absolute worst fear?

Then she remembered the maze.

The boggart that had shaken Harry to his core.

His mother.

Ginny gasped into her hands as she brought them to her mouth. Harry thought she'd replace his mother.

Surely that was impossible? What did Ginny have to offer that could possibly be more comforting, more reasoning than Harry's mother?

It was absurd, and she knew she had to talk to him about it in the coming days.

"There's a day left until the full moon," Harry said quietly, his back to Ginny. "You can't perform any magic, I'm exhausted… there's no way we're going to the Peverell Chamber before I transform. It's not feasible."

Ginny nodded. Then, realizing Harry couldn't see her, said, "I know,"

They lapsed into silence. "Riddle could have been there by now,"

Ginny sighed. "I know,"

"And after the Peverell Chamber, we have absolutely zero leads,"

"Yup," said Ginny morosely, popping the 'p' as she did so.

"We're fucked," Harry muttered, inspecting the brick fireplace with unnecessary attention.

A long silence prevailed through the room as its natural lighting slowly disappeared. Eventually, succumbing to exhaustion, Ginny sat back on one of the sofas. The springs creaked and groaned, and Ginny sighed as she let her head fall down into the cushions. She clutched her stomach area to dull the pain.

"I'm sure someone will be able to heal that," Harry whispered.

Ginny looked up to find him watching her movements. She nodded, though she didn't believe it herself, and closed her eyes.

She heard Harry lie down on the sofa opposite hers. "I won't replace her," she said, her high yet quiet.

Harry didn't respond. Whether because he had already fallen asleep or because he didn't have anything to answer her with.

She couldn't have Harry isolating himself this whole hunt. She'd need him. A rock, a friend, whatever else he was to her. She needed him to be present and to keep her sane.

A day until the full moon.

Two days until they could realistically set out in search of the Peverell Chamber.

Perhaps her magic will have recovered by then.

It was to that thought that she finally let herself fall asleep. The existence of Regulus Black was pushed away by simpler thoughts.

Thoughts of sleep.

A/N: We never are told where Hufflepuff's Cup was before it was moved to Gringotts, so… yeah.