A/N: I will not apologize. I have been through hell. But, I hope to finish this.

I do not own Harry Potter...

To say the Kitchen was at a standstill would be an understatement. No one spoke. No one moved. Some even held their breath.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dumbledore broke the silence.

"Miss Granger here has a story to tell. It will be long, but very important. I request everyone to please pay attention. Sirius, I assure you the rat is going nowhere. Calm down and hear what we have to say. Miss Granger..."

"Thank you Professor. I'm sure you all know about Regulus Black. He was Sirius's brother and a known death eater. But, that's not the entire truth. Regulus only joined the Death Eaters to please his father. Once he joined, he realized that he had made a grave mistake. He spent the rest of his life trying to bring down Voldemort. He created this diary after his extensive research."

Hermione placed the diary on the table. Everyone waited for her to continue. Sirius seemed wistful.

"This diary will help us to not only vanquish the self proclaimed Dark Lord, but also create a fair and wonderful Magical World. A world devoid of orthodox mentality and discrimination. We must work carefully and quickly. And more importantly, we must work together. Everyone with me so far?"

Tentative nods greeted Hermione, followed by firm and enthusiastic ones.

Harry spoke first. "Hermione, you have never steered me wrong. I will follow you to the ends of the Earth."

Hermione thanked him and continued.

"Let us start from the beginning. Voldemort's real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. His mother, Merope Gaunt, a squib, was a descendent of Salazar Slytherin and his father, Tom Riddle Sr., was a muggle..."

"What?!"

"Is this true?"

"You can't be serious!"

"Of course not... I am Sirius!"

"Those jokes are getting old Paddy..."

"You mean to say the exquisite Lucius Malfoy has been kissing a muggleborn's ar.."

"FRED WEASLEY! Language!"

"ENOUGH! Let Miss Granger continue. We don't have all day! No more interruptions!" McGonagall's warning seemed to have done the trick. Even the Twins shut up immediately.

"So, as I was saying... Voldemort was a muggleborn who had been orphaned at birth. Mr. Soms here has all the records from the Orphanage where Voldemort grew up. He was a brilliant student and grew up to be a highly accomplished wizard. He was especially invested in the Dark Arts. He wanted to achieve what many can't even imagine; Immortality. He created Horcruxes."

Several members gasped. Lupin grew pale and Tonks looked like she was about to throw up. The rest seemed puzzled. Hermione waited for a few seconds and continued.

"Regulus has mentioned 5 in his diary but he knew that Voldemort wanted to create 7. Now Professor Snape will explain what they are and how we can destroy them."

Snape stepped forward and gave a brief explanation. To everyone's surprise, Severus Snape even answers a few questions; with mild annoyance! After he was done, he asked Hermione to continue.

"Our top priority is to find and destroy these horcruxes. We will need to plan this meticulously. For now, keep this information to yourselves. Do NOT take any rash steps." She paused to give a pointed look towards Harry and Sirius.

"Professor Snape and I have figured out the last 2 horcruxes. Apparently, he has used two live vessels. One, a snake called Nagini. The other one was created accidentally, 14 years ago, on Halloween. When Lily Potter sacrificed herself, Voldemort's killing curse backfired at him and his soul latched on to the only living being it could find."

All eyes turned to Harry. He touched his scar as realization hit him with a force of 10 bludgers. The last person to realize broke the silence.

"Yer a 'orcrux 'arry!" **

**Kudos to the one who can figure out the reference...