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They moved to the kitchen so they could get something to eat, since they'd spent quite a while talking. The silence this time was way less awkward, which Harry was glad for. He'd had enough of the awkward silences.

A tapping on the window drew them both out of their thoughts, and Harry grinned. "Hedwig!" He practically jumped to his feet and rushed to the window to let her in. "Hullo, beautiful. Have a safe flight? Did you stay out of that storm?"

Hedwig bobbed her head as she hooted, and Harry took that as a yes. He stroked her breast and took the letter she had with her. "Go ahead and hunt down something to eat," said Harry, "then get some rest. I'll have a treat for you soon."

With another hoot and an affectionate nip to Harry's finger, Hedwig flew back out of the window and Harry returned to his chair at the kitchen table. But when he looked at the letter in his hands, he felt a pit form in his stomach.

"Harry?"

"It's-it's from Remus," said Harry. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous. He was the one who'd written to him in the first place, so it wasn't like it was weird that he'd been sent a response. But after everything Riddle had just finished telling him... He was kind of terrified to see what Remus had to say.

Whether Riddle noticed his hesitancy and unease or not, he didn't say anything and continued sipping from his cup, expressionless. A little relieved that he was keeping quiet, Harry turned his attention back to the letter.

'Harry,

I have to say I was a little surprised to get a letter from you. You don't tend to write often, and I seem to recall you saying it wouldn't be a good idea due to your relatives. I hope everything is alright, then?

But I was even more surprised by the contents of your letter. Where is all this curiosity about Sirius coming from? I don't remember you being this curious before, and I don't think Sirius ever mentioned anything like this either.

In any case, I've been meaning to talk to you about some of this for a little while now. Sirius was the one who wanted to have this conversation with you, but now it's been left to me. I'd rather do this in person though. I'll find a way to get to Privet Drive.

Remus'

Harry went over the letter a second time, and then slowly released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "He said he's going to come to Privet Drive to talk," he said, looking up.

"Hmm. I wonder if he is aware that house is warded against him," said Riddle with some interest.

"He didn't mention it if he is," said Harry. He got up to rinse his plate. "Can I go shower?"

"Of course."

"Thanks." Harry headed for the hall, then paused in the doorway and turned back around. "What...should I call you?" he asked. He'd been calling him Riddle since he'd seen his human form, but Riddle had started calling him by his first name, so now that just seemed kind of...rude.

"Whatever you want, Harry."

"T-Tom?"

The man seemed almost surprised for a moment, but then he smiled, lips curving just slightly. "Only you, Harry, can call me by that name."

Why that smile caused a very strange flutter in his stomach, Harry didn't dare think on, and instead he nodded, turned, and hurried away as quickly as he could without running.

When Harry returned to the sitting room after his shower, he found that Snape was back, only this time he'd brought someone with him. His eyes lit up. "Bill!"

Bill turned to him and smiled when he saw him. "Hey, Harry. How's it going?"

"Probably about as well as you're thinking."

Bill snickered, but sobered quickly. "Snape explained the situation to me," he said. "Guess I can't say I'm all that surprised."

Harry blinked. "You can't? Why not?"

Bill hesitated slightly, but said, "Dumbledore's been making a few...odd decisions lately. They don't make very much sense to me, but most of the Order members seem like they're just going along with everything without question. I expect it's because Dumbledore's the one at the head of all of this."

Harry frowned. "What's he been saying?"

"I'll get to that in a bit," said Bill, eyes scanning over him. "First, maybe I should see what I can do about that tracker on you." When Harry nodded, he said, "C'mere, stand in front of me." He pulled out his wand as he spoke.

Harry stepped forward and wondered what exactly Bill was going to do. He hadn't really explained anything, but Harry supposed he didn't ask either. When Bill set his left hand down on top of Harry's head, Harry grew more curious, but he decided not to say anything. He knew he could trust Bill.

While he hadn't confirmed it himself yet or anything, Snape was the one who'd warned him about trusting people, and he'd been the one to bring Bill here in the first place, which most likely meant he had nothing to worry about right now, at least in terms of trusting Bill.

"There's no guarantee I'll be able to remove this," said Bill in warning as he raised his wand. "It'll depend on what type of tracker it is, how long it's been there, and the magical strengths of both the one who placed it and the one it's placed on. And seeing as you think Dumbledore's the one who placed it, it might be a bit harder. If I can't remove it myself, then you'll have to rely on the goblins to do it for you. Fair warning, it might feel kind of strange."

Harry nodded to show he'd heard and understood everything. He didn't really trust his voice to speak right now. Hearing about everything was one thing, but now that Bill was here saying all of this, it was starting to feel a lot more real.

"Close your eyes."

Passing one last glance at Tom and Snape who were standing nearby and watching, Harry closed his eyes. He felt a little nervous, so he focused on the comforting feeling of Bill's hand on his head instead of that he had a wand trained on him. He could trust Bill, he reminded himself firmly.

Bill started chanting in a rapid but steady stream of latin, saying words Harry had never heard before and certainly didn't understand. It took only seconds for him to start feeling something strange. It was like his entire body had fallen asleep, giving him a pins and needles sensation everywhere, like he was being pricked with hundreds of little needles at the same time. It didn't actually hurt, but it was awfully uncomfortable.

"Stop squirming, Harry."

"Sorry." Harry fought to keep still while Bill resumed his chanting. What was he saying, he wondered? It did sound like latin, but it also sounded like there were some words in a different language added in. He didn't think he'd ever heard anything like it before.

But just seconds later, Bill stopped, cutting himself off abruptly. "You said you only found the one tracker on him?"

"Yes."

"You didn't find anything else?"

"The spell I used was not accurate enough to find anything not blatantly obvious," said Tom cordially. "Have you noticed something?"

Confused by the sudden conversation, Harry opened his eyes and saw Bill focused on Tom, both of them looking rather serious. Serious enough that it instantly filled Harry with dread. "What's wrong?" he asked quickly, eyes flicking between them.

"The tracker is there," said Bill, "but there's something else there too."

"Something else?" said Harry in confusion. "Is it another tracker or something?"

"It's not another tracker, no," said Bill. "If this is what I think it is, then it's much worse than a tracker."

"Just spit it out, Weasley."

Bill looked at Tom again, expression more grim than Harry had ever seen it before. "I think it's a horcrux."

That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!