Harry awakens, peering at the cobwebbed chandelier overhead. He sits up, looks at Hermione, asleep upon the sofa, her arm dangling down to where Ron lies upon the floor, her fingers only inches from his. Y/n just right beside him. Nearby, the radio hisses softly, distant voices struggling to be heard.

"Lumos!" Harry whispered

Harry's wand blooms in the darkness as he scales the stairs and reaches the landing.

He peers into a bedroom. The drawers have been turned out. The bedsheets stripped. He moves on, painting the wall with wandlight, illuminating an empty portrait of a muddy landscape. He studies it -- long enough that we'll remember it -- then a floorboard squeaks -- like the night before. Harry wheels, points his wand down the dark corridor adjacent.

Harry moves down the narrow corridor to its end, to a doorway. He eyes the nameplate: "SIRIUS."

Harry entered the room. This room, like the others, has been ransacked. Harry lingers by a photograph. in it, four young Hogwarts students -- James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew And Remus Lupin -- stand grinning before the Whomping Willow. Harry traces the thin cone of light of his wand across their faces.

Books and papers carpet the floor. A woman's face, striking and wise, peers out from a dust jacket. Harry crouches, turns the book over to read its title: A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot. Harry turns it

Back over, studies the woman's face again. He begins to rise when he notices a crumpled piece of paper embossed at the top with a name: Lily Potter. As Harry begins to read.

Dear Sirius. Thank you for

Harry's birthday present. You'd

think he'd been born on a broom.

James says he's got the look of a

Seeker, but then James would. We

had a very quiet birthday tea,

just us and old Bathilda, who

dotes on Harry. Wormy dropped by

late in the day, but seemed down

and didn't stay long. James is

frustrated being shut up here, but

Dumbledore's still got his

Invisibility Cloak, so he doesn't

have much choice. By the way,

Bathilda tells the most amazing

stories about our old Headmaster.

I don't know how much to believe.

Can it really be true that

Dumbledore --

Harry turns the letter over, but there is no more.

"Harry! Harry!" he heard Y/n's voice calling for him.

Harry steps out, finds Y/N dashing up the stairs. Seeing him, she exhales in relief.

"Ron! Mione! I've found him!" You shouted .

"Good! Tell him from me he's a git!" Ron shouted back.

"Harry, you can't just disappear.We thought –" You started lecturing him

You stop as Harry hands you the letter. You read.

"It's from your Mum. To Sirius. Bathilda Bagshot...?" you ask

"Yeah. They knew her. She wrote AHistory of Magic, you know."

"Did she now?" you said with irony

"I'm thinking maybe we should go talk to her. She still lives in Godric's Hollow. I'm thinking maybe she could help us." Y/n looks up, regards Harry closely.

"Harry. I can imagine why you'd want to go there, but... I don't think Bathilda Bagshot is going to know where Voldemort hid his Horcruxes." You answered softly

Harry starts to respond, frowns. You reach out, touch his face lightly. He slowly starts to lean in.

"Hey! I think you two better come down here." Shouted Ron and Hermione.

Ron peers out a curtain as Y/n and Harry join him. In the courtyard outside, two dark figures stand near a tree. another sits on a bench.

RON

"The two clinging to the tree are Death Eaters for sure. Dunno 'bout the bloke on the bench," Ron said dropping the curtain, "Can't see us, of course. But we'll have to be careful coming and going. C'mon. There's something else you need to see."

Harry, Y/n & Hermione trail Ron to a narrow doorway. Beyond is a cramped bedroom, walls covered with EERIE scrawlings and symbols of Dark Magic.

"Lovely." Hermione whispered.

Ron pulls the door shut. Affixed to the outside is a small sign, hand-lettered in a spidery crawl:

Do Not Enter

Without the Express Permission of Regulus Arcturus Black

Regulus Arcturus Black...? you gasp Ron nods, extends his hand and taps the

first letter of each name on the sign.

"R... A... B."

As Harry removes the note.

"To the Dark Lord. I know I will

be dead long before you read

this... I have stolen the real

Horcrux and intend to destroy

it..."

"R.A.B. was Sirius' brother?" Ron asks.

"Yes. Question is, did he actually destroy the real Horcrux?" Hermione wondered

Harry nods... then spots a shadow trembling on the wall just outside the kitchen. He scrambles up and out of sight.

"Stop! I order you!" Harry ordered.

Seconds later, Harry reappears... dragging Kreacher the house-elf by one ear. Kreacher mumbles foul oaths.

"Kreacher..." Ron mumbles

"Been spying on us, have you?" Harry asked the elf

"Kreacher has been... watching. Kreacher always watches." The ugly elf said.

"Maybe he knows." Hermione says.

Harry glances at her, realizes what she means, takes the locket and dangles it before Kreacher's massive eyes like a hypnotist. Kreacher watches it sway back and forth.

"Ever seen this before?"

Kreacher grumbles incoherently.

"Kreacher, I own this place. Sirius left it to me. Which means I own you too." Kreacher grimaces mightily, then gives in.

"That was Master Regulus' locket." Kreacher said

"That's right. But there were two, weren't there?" You asked

Kreacher's eyes widen in surprise. He nods again.

"Where's the other one?" You proceed asking.

"Kreacher doesn't know where the other locket is." He answered.

"But was it here? Did you ever see it?" Hermione asked.

Kreacher spins, his face ugly and vicious:

"Filthy Mudblood -- The Death Eaters will soon be coming for you!"

Ron snatches Kreacher by the neck, shakes him.

"Blood-traitor Weasley –" he gargles

"Ron! RON!" Hermione said.Reluctantly, Ron releases the elf.

"Answer her" Harry ordered.

"Yes. It was here, in this house. A most evil object..." he elf said

"How do you mean?" you asked.

"Before he died, Master Regulus ordered Kreacher to destroy it. It was the last thing he asked of Kreacher. But no matter how Kreacher tried, he could not.."

"Where is it now? Did someone take it, Kreacher?" Harry asked

"He came in the night. He took many things, including the locket." Kreacher nodded.

"Who, Kreacher? Who was it?" You asked

"Mundungus. Mundungus Fletcher."

The quartet glance at one another, then Harry turns back to Kreacher, looks him in the eye.

"Find him."

Crack! Kreacher vanishes.