Hello everyone! Happy Sunday! :)

Thank you Gypsyrose98 for your comment, I'm so glad you like this story!

I'm still working on chapter 13, about halfway done. Nearing the end…

Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

"Lumos."

The hallway in front of them instantly got bright, and Remus was glad to realize that it looked just like a regular very small hallway. There was no sign of bugs, dust, or spiderwebs on the walls, which also meant this hallway had been used recently.

The Lupin quickly followed Snape, the cold surrounding them making him shiver.

They walked quietly for a few minutes, the only sound being their footsteps echoing from the walls, until Snape suddenly raised his voice, "I have to say…this map seems to be turning out as rather useful, Lupin."

Remus grinned, understanding right away, "is that an apology?"

The Potion Master turned around to face him, raising an eyebrow, "do you demand one?"

"Actually- I do", Remus replied, not breaking eye contact, "you came to me because you needed help- and when I offered it, you mocked me for it."

Snape didn't respond for a bit, he just looked at the werewolf thoughtfully, also not breaking eye contact, "I can admit when I was wrong", he eventually said, "and…I apologize, Lupin."

"It's Remus."

"Excuse me?"

Remus sighed, "we are currently in some secret hallway trying to find a way into the Chamber of Secrets to destroy Dumbledore's horcrux- do you even realize how utterly bizarre all of this is? Would you have believed any of this a few months ago?"

"Certainly not", Snape had to agree, and Remus smiled, "exactly. Given these circumstances, I think it is about time we make peace with each other- after all, we have Dumbledore to worry about."

"I…cannot argue that", and was that a hint of amusement in Snape's voice?

Must be dreaming already.

"Remus it is", Snape added after a short pause, and Remus' smile widened, "thank you, Severus. That means a lot."

They continued their walk, the silence between them now comfortable. The hallway never changed- there were no windows, no turns, no doors.

But then, something did change.

They had been walking for about ten to fifteen minutes when Remus suddenly frowned, wrinkling his nose, "do you smell that, Severus?"

The Snape stopped again, inhaling the cold air around them, and then he nodded, "it might be a dead rat or a mouse."

"Pettigrew, maybe", Remus joked, but then they kept walking, and his face turned into a grimace, "it's getting worse."

"It is", Snape agreed, the stench was unmistakable now- and he had dealt with all kinds of smells all his life, being the Potion Master, and this one…

It cannot be.

They walked for another minute, and Remus had to cough, covering his nose with his hand, "what…is this? That can't be some dead animal, surely!"

"It is not", Snape tried not to inhale too much air, the smell was sickening by now, "I am afraid it is something…bigger than an animal."

Remus immediately paled, "you…not…not Sirius? He…you're not…saying…", he couldn't finish his sentence.

"No, not Black", Snape hastily assured him, seeing that the Lupin looked like he was about to faint, "a dead body does not start to smell after several hours have passed. I'm afraid whatever- or whoever- we are going to find down here has been dead for quite some time."

Remus' face turned green, but he did not say anything, and he did not stop walking behind him, which Snape noted with some surprise.

They did not have to walk much further, the light from the Lumos spell suddenly shining on something that looked like a package from the distance- the foul odor coming from it breathtakingly awful.

"It's definitely a person- or whatever is left of them", Snape kept walking, Remus following hesitantly, "and…they're wearing a Hogwarts uniform."

Remus coughed, "this…this is a student?!"

They had reached the body now, and Snape kneeled down next to it. As he had suspected, whoever this was had been dead for some time already- he assumed it must have been several weeks, at least.

The body was stiff and clearly had not been moved recently as small layers of dust had settled on it. Due to the cold, the clothes were still in good condition, and Snape had no problem to identify the Gryffindor emblem on the uniform.

"It's someone from Gryffindor", he told Remus, who made a choking sound as a response, "but…who can this be? I do not know of any missing Gryffindor student!"

The Lupin was getting hysterical now, so Snape focused his attention back on the body in front of him. The cold had also helped preserve the body, it was barely rotten and he could not see any small animals feasting on it.

He took a deep breath- and then he slowly turned the body around, Remus behind him gasping loudly when they came face to face with the person in front of them.

His eyes were closed, the lips a dark blue, and there were several spots on his face- but the identity was unmistakably.

"It…it's Luke", Remus croaked, "Luke…Lightwing. But…how…can this be? I just…saw him in class this morning! This morning, Severus!"

"I…know, Remus. He was in my class this morning as well", Snape got back up, confusion written all over his face, "but…he has been dead for at least three weeks, maybe even a month."

"How's that possible?", Remus kept staring at Luke's dead face, not understanding, "how…did he get here?"

"I think…we might have found the person Dumbledore murdered to create a horcrux", Snape finally said slowly, "it has to be a senseless murder, a brutal one. He killed Luke and then hid him here, knowing that no one would ever come into this hallway."

"The…Polyjuice you told me about", Remus whispered, his face still an unhealthy color of green, "that…that was never Luke, this whole time? That was just someone pretending to be Luke, so no one would report Luke missing and find out about his murder?"

"A devious plan…and a quite brilliant one as well, I have to say", Snape nodded grimly, "it might have even been Dumbledore himself pretending to be Luke."

Remus felt sick, and looking at the dead boy down there on the ground, laying alone in this cold and dark hallway, discarded and forgotten, almost made him tear up.

"We…we can't leave Luke here, Severus", he eventually said, his voice thick with emotion, "we have to bring him back to his family."

"We will- but we have to get into the Chamber first. If Dumbledore uses this hallway and Luke's body is gone, he will know that someone found out, and we cannot risk that right now."

"But…we don't even know if this is the right way, or how far the Chamber might be!", Remus protested, and Snape simply pointed at the map, "the Chamber is right here- we're very close. Besides, I doubt that Dumbledore would be foolish enough to walk around in several hallways. He used this one to hide the body, to get into the Chamber, and he might have hidden his horcrux here at some point, too- before he brought it to the Astronomy Tower."

"I hope you're right", Remus mumbled, still feeling sick. He had always liked Luke- he was a quiet, shy boy who had never caused any trouble and was often hardly noticeable.

Maybe that's why Dumbledore killed him- someone who's not drawing attention to himself anyways.

It was a disturbing thought, that Luke had had to die simply because he was quiet and to himself- but from Dumbledore's perspective, it made perfect sense.

"Lightwing is the perfect victim", Snape stated now as well as they kept walking, "he blends right in with everyone, he's quiet and doesn't have any close friends who would immediately notice it if someone else was pretending to be him. Dumbledore was able to have everyone believe that boy was still alive and well- while he's been laying down here dead for weeks. It's loathsome."

"It really is", Remus agreed quietly, and they kept walking for another few minutes, the smell slowly getting less intense.

And then suddenly, a door appeared in front of them- not even locked, because Snape was able to open it right away, and inside they stepped- inside of the Chamber of Secrets.

Sirius had to cough, not surprised when there were sprinkles of blood coming out with his saliva. Pettigrew had put another torture spell on him a while ago, thankfully, it had not been as bad as the first one, but still- every single part of his body was aching with pain.

"I really…thought Gryffindor would get…us out", he coughed again, "guess I was…wrong. He's…probably glad he got rid of us…this easily."

Tom bit his lips, not wanting to admit that this exact thought had crossed his mind as well. They had been here for hours- where the hell were the Founders? Did not even Aurelius give a damn that they were captured here like animals?

"I'm his spy- and I have a deal with him. He better comes and gets me", he replied, his voice more arrogant than he felt, and Sirius blinked at him, "that…deal's bullshit, and…you know it."

"What do you mean?"

"He's…not gonna transform…you back. He…told me so."

"That's a lie!", Tom's eyes started to sparkle with raw anger, "I'm only going to stay like this until the end of the year, and then he will transform me back!"

Sirius coughed, he felt too sick to argue, "sure. Whatever. I need…some water."

"We don't have any more", Tom replied curtly, still upset about Sirius' remark.

The other boy didn't respond, he just coughed again, carefully putting his head on the mattress. He could sense a fever coming- no wonder in the coldness and dampness down here, along with all the screaming he had done.

Meanwhile, Tom sat brooding on his own mattress- and the more he thought about Sirius' comment, the angrier he got. Maybe this was the reason why Gryffindor hadn't rescued him yet- maybe he had decided he was useless as a spy anyways, and if he wasn't going to transform him back, he could as well just let him die in this hole.

It's not like he gives a damn about me. Never has.

He abruptly stood up, the anger fueling his energy, "I'm going to get out of here", he announced, marching over to the door, "Pettigrew is not smart enough to secure this dump anyways. I'll find a way out."

"Good…luck", Sirius mumbled, dizzy from coughing his lungs up. He would have given anything for some water- that was all that was on his mind at the moment.

Water. Just water…

Out of the corners of his eyes, he watched Tom examining the door, it was covered with iron bars and allowed them to see into the empty hallway behind. He could hear Tom curse, kicking the door a few times minutes later, and he had to cough again.

"Try…the window…", he mumbled, knowing that there was no point of him getting out of here anyways- the chain on his leg prevented any attempts for escape, besides, he was too weak from the torture to even stand up.

Tom said something but he couldn't hear him over his coughing.

The other boy kicked the door again in frustration, and then he walked back over to him, exhaling in anger, "there's not even a real lock on there- means, it's magically locked. I cannot believe that dimwit Pettigrew got me like this, especially after everything I've done for him!"

"Could…have told you, not to…trust him", Sirius remarked, not bothering to hide the scorn from his voice, "he's…the reason I was…in Azkaban, innocent, for…twelve years!"

"Tell me something I don't know", Tom replied rudely, walking over to the window now, "do you think you can lift me up, so I can reach the window?"

Sirius would have laughed if he could, but as the situation was, he just snorted, "lift…you up? I can barely…lift my head up, Voldemort."

"Stop being so dramatic, Black. You survived twelve years in Azkaban, didn't you?"

"I wasn't…tortured there", Sirius shot back, "and why…should I help you? Not…like you'd send help for me…anyways."

"Nonsense, I certainly would- I cleaned your wounds and gave you water earlier, in case you forgot that already."

Sirius coughed, "cause you…know you need…me alive. Who…do you think Peter…is gonna torture when…I'm dead?"

Tom paled, "you're not dying, Black."

Sirius just blinked, looking at the blood sprinkles on his hand after coughing again, "it sure…feels like it, though."

"Even more reason to help me find a way out of here", Tom eventually said, his voice slightly shaking, "or, wait- can't you transform yourself into an Animagus? That's how you got out of Azkaban, right?"

Sirius sighed, slowly shaking his head, "I…used to, before…the deaging spell. I don't…have the magical…abilities for that…anymore."

There was a silence.

"You're not dying, Black", Tom finally repeated, his voice quiet, "not…not like this."

Sirius attempted a grin, "another…Crucio and…I…might. It…hurts…so much."

Tom wanted to respond, but then there was a sudden noise on his side of the cell- a plate with food and a jug of water had appeared out of nowhere, just like hours before.

"Water…", Sirius whispered, and Tom bit his lips, marching over to the plate and the jug, and without even glancing at it- taking it over to Sirius.

"Here. Drink. And…eat."

Sirius didn't waste time to ask questions, there was water- so much water…

And he drank, and he carefully ate, Tom watching him wordlessly without making an attempt to eat or drink himself- even though it had been hours since he last ate and drank as well.

"You…don't…want any?", Sirius finally asked, there was a still a bit water left, and two slices of bread on the plate.

He shook his head, "you need it more than me."

"No. We…need to both stay…alive", Sirius shoved the plate over, "I'm…full."

He felt a lot better, actually- resting and eating and being hydrated helped so much with the pain, even though he had an idea that another torture spell really could kill him.

Tom silently ate the bread, he had a couple sips of the water, too, but left some in the jug. He then carried it all back to his side of the cell, letting Pettigrew believe Sirius never had any of it.

That rat can believe whatever he wants, anyways.

The anger he felt about Pettigrew's betrayal was back- and the anger about his capture, this whole situation…and maybe even Sirius' torture.

He'll pay for that, eventually…

"Having a nice evening?", Peter's spiteful face appeared in front of the door all of a sudden, and Tom could see Sirius get stiff with fear, and the anger was now too much.

It was too much.

"What do you think, traitor?", he hissed at his former servant, not bothering to sound even remotely respectful, "you little coward think you can lock me up here, me, your Lord and Master? You are pathetic, you never deserved to be part of the Dark Order, you are nothing but a whiny, whimpery, and weak worthless rat!"

Pettigrew's face had gotten from pale to angry red, his whole body was shivering with hatred now when he raised his wand, pointing it at Tom, "you…you think you can talk to me like that? You…child!", he kept his wand straight at the boy, "Crucio!"

Sirius watched in horror as Tom started to scream, falling to his knees almost immediately, all while Peter laughed, almost shaking with amusement. He kept giggling as he walked away eventually, not caring the slightest what injuries his spell had caused.

Sirius waited until Pettigrew's mocking laughter was merely an echo, then he robbed over to Tom who was groaning in agony, blood coming out of his nose and ears.

"Tom?", he whispered, "how…do you…feel?"

"Like I got run over by the Hogwarts Express", he coughed, groaning again and slowly tried to move, "hurts…"

"There's…some water left", Sirius reminded him quietly, "why…did you provoke him like…that?"

Tom snorted, carefully sitting up, using his sleeve to clean the blood from his face, "why do you think, Black?"

The other boy stilled, staring at him, "so…he wouldn't…torture me?"

"You said you wouldn't survive another spell", Tom refused to look at him, "and, I was…angry. Some nerve of Pettigrew of all people to lock me up, his former Master!"

"Right. The nerve", Sirius couldn't help it, he had to smile, "well, thank…you. He might not…come back until tomorrow."

"We've been here a whole day now?", Tom sighed, staring into the darkness outside the small window, "worst…day of my life."

"Agreed", Sirius coughed, laying down on his mattress, and after a moment of hesitation, Tom pushed his mattress next to Sirius', laying down as well.

For a few minutes, there was a comfortable silence between them.

"Tom?"

"Yes?"

"If…he does come back…and…you know", Sirius suppressed a cough, "you…gotta tell Remus something. And…Harry."

"Me and Potter are not on the best speaking terms", Tom replied sarcastically, "and…we'll get out of here. We will."

"You…might", Sirius blinked at him, "tell…Harry that…I love him. And that I'm sorry I was such a…useless godfather. And Remus…that I'm sorry for being so much…trouble at Hogwarts."

"You'll tell them yourself, Black", Tom replied, but it sounded a lot less harsh than intended.

"And…you gotta tell Gryffindor something, too", Sirius went on, ignoring his remark, "that…I'm not mad that he…spanked me, that day. I deserved it. He…was probably the closest…to a dad I ever…had."

Tom closed his eyes, forcefully blinking back the tears. He couldn't respond, he couldn't tell Sirius Black of all people that he felt exactly the same.

"Tom?"

Sirius carefully turned around, facing the other boy who was hiding his face in the mattress, "you know how…I said Gryffindor won't transform…you back? That's not…because of your…deal. He…called you…my boy…for a reason."

Sirius could tell Tom was crying now, but he felt like the other boy needed to know this, "he…already sees you…as his son", he whispered, "he wouldn't…call you my boy…otherwise."

He could hear Tom sob, and then the boy turned around, his face covered in tears, "if he does, why isn't he here? Why does he let me suffer like this? I…I know I wasn't good; I'm never going to be as good as Aurelius, but…I thought…I thought he…loves…"

"He does…love you", Sirius told him quietly, "and…no one can ever be as holy and good as Aurelius", he had to grin, "he's…like the older brother I…never had."

"I guess he is, in a way", Tom blinked at him, realizing how bizarre this all was, him getting comforted by Sirius Black, and crying over Godric Gryffindor- but he didn't even care. He was too exhausted and drained to care about much at this point, regardless.

"That soap stuff sucked, though", Sirius now said, and Tom couldn't help but grin a bit as well, "I didn't even know soap would burn this much."

"He did that…to me before", Sirius shuddered, "I was having a…snowball fight, and then…", and he went on to tell Tom about how Aurelius had punished him for the first time, and Tom listened wide-eyed, and for some precious time, both boys forgot about the cell, and their pain, and the cold- and eventually, over a discussion who was more strict- Gryffindor or Aurelius- they fell asleep, snuggled closely into each other.

Remus and Snape wasted no time to head back to Gryffindor Manor after they had gotten the basilisk poison from the Chamber of Secrets.

They found Godric and Salazar in a heated discussion in the library, both of them looking worried, exhausted, and helpless.

So far, every spell, every magic, everything they had tried to locate the boys had failed- meaning that either Pettigrew or Dumbledore or both of them had planned this for a long time, and were prepared.

"We got the basilisk poison", Remus began shyly, reading the room, "and…we also found Luke."

Snape took over, and he explained shortly what had happened, and both Founders stared at him in amazement when he had ended.

"We've been right about the Polyjuice", Godric finally said, "he murdered Luke to create the horcrux, and used the Polyjuice to have himself or someone else pretend to be Luke."

"What if…Pettigrew pretended to be Luke, all along?", Salazar suddenly said, "it would explain why Pettigrew was in the dorms, or walking into the library. He wasn't walking around as a rat- he was walking around as Luke Lightwing."

"The…map always shows the real name, whatever spell you use, even if you transform into an Animagus", Remus blurted out, excitement in his voice, "and that's why we never saw Luke's name on there- because he had been dead this whole time."

"The only question is- why would Pettigrew agree to help Dumbledore with his scheme?", Godric asked, a thoughtful expression on his face, "or…maybe Pettigrew agreed to help Dumbledore to have him help kidnap the boys?"

"He could have used the Imperio", Snape suggested, "or simply blackmailed him, and threaten him to let the Ministry know where he was."

"That is possible…", Godric mumbled, "I think we got several steps closer to solve this mystery tonight, and- we can finally destroy Dumbledore's horcrux."

"Should we do that right away?", Salazar asked, and Godric nodded, "if Dumbledore helped Pettigrew kidnap the boys, destroying his horcrux will weaken him for quite some time- time he cannot use to harm the boys. Besides, it gives us an advantage over him."

"It will weaken us momentarily as well, though", Salazar argued, and Godric sighed, "I know…but so far, none of our spells has worked to find the boys. I put a protection spell on both of them, but all I can tell is that they are in pain, it does not tell me anything else."

"He was clever enough to take them out of Hogwarts, otherwise the map would show them", Remus now said, his voice upset, "and he had months to find the perfect hiding spot, unfortunately."

"Somewhere in Hogsmeade, maybe?", Salazar frowned, "or…nearby the village?"

"I could check Hogsmeade", Snape offered, "it would have to be an abandoned building, somewhere with a basement, I assume."

"Yes, please look around Hogsmeade, Severus", Godric looked at the Potion Master, "and Remus- I need you to keep an eye on Dumbledore. He'll realize soon enough that his horcrux got destroyed, and that might trigger him to do something unexpected."

Snape and Remus both nodded, and the Founder thanked them, shifting his attention to Salazar, "time for us to get rid of that horcrux, once and for all."

Gryffindor took the vial with the basilisk poison, and while Remus and Snape used the floo network to get back to Hogwarts- or, Hogsmeade, in Snape's case- the Founders went into the dungeon where they kept Dumbledore's horcrux.

"This is for Luke", Salazar stated grimly, opening the vial with the poison.

And then, they began- and while the sun started to rise, and while Snape was searching through Hogsmeade, and while Remus was keeping watch outside Dumbledore's office, the Founders started the process of destroying the horcrux, which turned out to be a lot more complicated than expected due to the powerful amount of White Magic it was filled with.

But hours later, it was done.

Dumbledore's horcrux was no more.

And no worries- Sirius and Tom will get rescued, soon ;)

I'd love some feedback from you all!

Xoxo,

Antonie