Chapter 22: Spring Holiday Continued

"Harry, Hermione, Ms. Shayani," Sirius said. "Before your family members arrive, I must tell you what I found in my family home earlier."

"The horcrux?" Hermione gasped, her hand coming to her mouth. Sirius grinned.

"Yeah, and it's safely with the others at Hogwarts now. Minerva made sure of it, as I cannot completely trust Dumbledore anymore," he said.

"I rather understand that" Harry commented, without going into more detail. None of them needed more detail, not even Remus, as Sirius had explained to him what Harry had gone through.

"That is three in total so far," Hermione said, in thought. "Two more according to Snape. Draco will be successful, I'm quite sure. The final horcrux should be in Hogwarts."

"Have you found the Room of Requirement yet?" Remus asked softly and took a bite of his biscuit. In his opinion, these biscuits could use a bit of chocolate. He decided he would introduce Harry to chocolate digestives, if he didn't already know of them.

"What's that?" Harry asked. "We've not heard of it!"

"Not many know of it," Remus said still in a soft calm voice, when he was in truth quite anxious inside. He, too, wanted to make up for lost time with Harry, and was feeling perfectly fine being an uncle as originally intended rather than a parent. He knew Sirius felt very badly, but there was nothing they could do to change the past. "It's a room on the seventh floor of the castle, and it is hidden from view. It may be an interesting place to look for the horcrux." He continued, describing how to gain access to the room. Harry had a good understanding and Hermione had written down exact directions.

Shortly thereafter, Tim arrived home, and Tina was there less than a minute later. Tim headed into the lounge to meet Harry's godfather and uncle. Tina took a detour into the kitchen to place her freshly made noon and kashk-e bademjan on the table.

After introductions and greetings, they settled back to talk of more general matters. Sirius was quite shocked to discover that one could have latent magic, and then to be able to develop it as an adult. Taraneh laughed merrily at his reaction. Tina, when questioned, was content to share that she did not mind, not having magic. Tim decided it was time to talk music when the conversation slowed down.

"Sirius," he said, to get the other man's attention. "I hear you like music. Muggle music?"

"Yeah, I loved it once I started listening to it. James was really into it, and insisted I had to listen to his favourites. I really liked The Beatles and Pink Floyd. I assume John Lennon is still dead unless he was a wizard with a horcrux or two? Are Pink Floyd still together? The last album of theirs I heard before Azkaban was The Wall. I thought about it a lot while inside."

"'No dark sarcasm in the classroom'?" Harry quoted in question, thrilled his father liked these artists, too. He had not known this. Sirius barked out a laugh.

"More like 'I have seen the writing on the wall'," he replied. "But, yeah, I used to love the dark sarcasm line."

"You need to listen to newer music, too" Harry said, feeling well educated. "Perhaps Dad could loan you some."

"Yes, I reckon I could," Tim agreed as he stood to go over to the shelves of music in a variety of formats. Most of the newer albums were on CD. Sirius was fascinated by the new technology and wondered if he could charm a cd player to work in his house if he purchased one. Grimmauld had a lot of old magic in it that could potentially interfere.

By the time that dinner was ready, Sirius had listened to U2, because when he heard the Shayani-Grangers were going to a concert, he immediately wanted to know what sort of music they would hear.

"Hey, Rem, you want to go? I'll try to get tickets for us," Sirius shouted, running a hand through his hair in his eagerness.

"Yes, Sirius, but it's only six weeks from now. Perhaps they are sold out," Remus said in his quiet manner.

"Ah, but we have magic! We'll get in some way," Sirius said confidently. Remus shook his head, and proceeded to the dining area off the kitchen, Sirius on his heels.

Taraneh issued instructions as to the seating of everyone. Sirius moaned when Tim carried the serving platter to the table, as it was loaded with saffron/dill rice and joujeh (chicken) kabob. A few moments later, he loudly complimented Tina on her mouth-watering kashk-e bademjan. Harry decided to himself, as everyone eagerly devoured the food he had helped make, that this was going to work out after all.

_ Break_

His father was away, and his mother had gone shopping with her sister (the nicer one, not the crazy one.) Draco was left to his own devices to do as he wished, within reason. There were always the house elves if he needed something.

Today he was prepared to retrieve the book he believed to be the horcrux.

He donned the dragon skin gloves and picked up the specially warded sack in which he was to place the book with his left hand. He took his wand up in his right hand and walked deliberately to the section of books where the hidden nook was located. After gently edging the books in front to the sides, he then cast the spells Dumbledore had taught him that would show if there were wards or traps present. Surprisingly, there was only one ward. It was simply an old Notice-Me-Not charm. For whatever reason, the charm had no longer been very effective, and Draco could obviously see it. There was also something else, very dark, which made Draco shiver. This had to be the Horcrux, right?

He carefully reached forward and had the book in his gloved hand in moments. He quickly dropped it in the sack and sealed it as tight as he could so the wards on the bag would be most effective. Holding the sack at arms' length, he hurried over to a desk where he had left the charmed parchment Professor Snape had given him for this purpose. Laying the sack next to the parchment, Draco wrote carefully that he had retrieved it, and asked what he should do next. He added that he was home alone except for the house elves.

A response came through the parchment that if he could get the sack to the floo, Snape would take it from him. Draco had no idea if that was very secure or not but decided to trust one of his favourite teachers, nonetheless. He just wanted this book out of his house, and perhaps replace it with a different book, just so there was an illusion of the book in the nook.

Draco looked out into the corridor. He saw no trace of house elves, and quietly began his trek to the floo near the main entry, the sack hidden under his robes, although he still held it away from himself as much as was possible.

"Hope everyone appreciates what I'm doing," he mumbled under his breath as he knelt in front the floo. He quietly called for Snape, and his teacher's hands reached through the flames to take the sack.

The moment it was gone, Draco jumped up, and ran to his bedroom. He quickly peeled off the gloves, and his clothing, and took a very long shower.

-Break_

"We have the diary," Severus said plainly as he entered Dumbledore's office. Minerva was already there, relaxed back in a chair. Well, as relaxed she could ever be.

"Very, very good," Albus said. "Lemon drop?"

"Thank you, no," Severus replied as he always did. He moved to put Tom Riddle's diary in the specially warded location where all the horcruxes were being kept. He and Minerva both had access to them now. If all went well, he would never have to be a spy again. It was a tiny hope he held in his heart, small, but there. He would never share this aloud to anyone, though, as he would rather eat the bowl full of lemon monstrosities than speak this aloud. He was also aware that even if the Dark Lord never came back to life again as planned there were still changes to be made at the Ministry, and Death Eaters still free to wander the earth.

"We have one more to find, then," Minerva said.

"It has to be here in the castle," Severus said, taking the seat next to her.

"Harry wrote a letter last night," she said. "He said, 'The werewolf suggested the room of requirement.' It seems he has spoken with Remus Lupin. I wonder how he knows of the Room of Requirement."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Severus mumbled. Dumbledore chuckled.

"I told him, dear boy," he said in an amused voice. "He went there as a student at times when he had to change, and the weather outdoors was inclement. Not every full moon but select months."

"Why did I not think of that?" Minerva murmured. "Something I must keep in mind as Headmistress."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled rather suddenly. "Severus, what do think about serving as the next Deputy Headmaster?"

Severus wanted to let his mouth hang open in surprise, but instead kept it firmly closed, to hide his surprise. Dumbledore let out a short laugh.

"Is something wrong, Professor?" Severus asked faintly. "Are you planning to leave, or – or?" He could not finish his sentence and looked over to Minerva. She had a small smile on her countenance.

"Severus, I am perfectly fine. Quite old, to be sure, but I think it is time to pass on the mantle of Head of Hogwarts to Minerva. She and her young protégé, Ms. Granger, have many plans in mind, and we feel you are the perfect choice for Deputy. Meanwhile, you shall see me about as I plan to live here in Hogwarts at Minerva's invitation. I plan to do some travelling, although portions of the year, I will remain busy as the head of the Wizengamot. In fact, I will have more time to make some changes there, as well." Dumbledore looked very much at peace with this decision. Severus was honestly shocked as he had always thought Headmasters served until the day they died.

"Think about it, Severus," Minerva said. "You have until the end of June to make a decision."

"I will think about it, indeed," he replied. "Do you really want me as Deputy? Sometimes I am not always the best to deal with the students. What about visiting the muggleborns? I am quite sure I do not make a good first impression."

"I happen to adore visiting the potential muggleborn students, Severus. This summer we will go together, and I trust we will not be in such surprise as I had discovering Harry's whereabouts and circumstances. It will be straightforward, I'm sure," Minerva said confidently.

"I am leaving Hogwarts in good hands," Dumbledore said. "Now, let us return to the other topic at hand. Do we attempt to find the Room of Hidden Things? I have found need of the Room of Requirement only once before. All other attempts on my part have failed."

"I have been able to access it twice," Minerva said. "Perhaps the children would have better fortune in getting it to open to them, because children tend to focus better on what they specifically need sometimes. Their minds are not as cluttered as those of adults."

"My mind is not cluttered," Severus griped, almost good-naturedly. "However, I was able to get the Room open a few times as a student. It provided me with some much-needed peace and quiet." Dumbledore and Minerva looked at him in surprise. He shrugged.

"I was reading about Hogwarts and the rumour of its existence fascinated me. I found it one day," he said and added his agreement that the children should search for the rooms once they returned to school.

-Break—

Harry and Hermione ended their school holiday with their parents, Sirius, and Remus. The plan had been to go into London with Sirius to see his house, and how he had gotten both a record player and a CD player to work successfully. In late morning, they would leave Harry and Hermione on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters for their return to Hogwarts. However, once Tim had mentioned His Majesty's Voice, a well-known music store, Sirius insisted they must come with him to visit it (and help him with muggle money).

One day over their holiday, Harry went with Sirius and Remus to Diagon Alley. Harry had learned much about James and Lilly over a meal in a small private room at one of the restaurants. He felt guilty that his parents died to protect him, but Sirius and Remus assured him that they best way he could thank them and honour them was to live his life. He shared his idea of going to into healing and medicine someday, and both of his honorary uncles were surprised but pleased by this. By the time they took their leave from Diagon Alley, Harry understood why they had a private room at the restaurant. Wizards and witches were recognizing Harry more, and particularly because they noticed Sirius Black, who was once known as a murderer. His name had now been cleared, but it seemed as though not everyone knew!

Another day, Harry and Hermione spent a few hours with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. Harry, after speaking with his Mind Healer about it, decided that perhaps he could go Number Four Privet Drive briefly to try to find some peace. After Petunia had picked them up from their house, she drove them to Privet Drive. Harry, once he felt he could speak without crying, showed Hermione his cupboard. Now it was a proper cupboard under the stairs. His old mattress was gone, too. He just stared inside, and then went into the kitchen where he used to do the cooking. Hermione remained, staring into the cupboard in stunned disbelief. This is where her brother and best friend had slept for almost ten years! And he nearly died here! Tears streamed down her face as her mind pictured Harry in this space.

"Dear, please come to the table for tea," Aunt Petunia murmured in her ear. Hermione nodded quickly in agreement, swiping away at her tears. Petunia handed her a clean handkerchief. Hermione had never been so emotional until the past month, and she rather hoped it did not linger. She considered herself a strong young woman, and too much of this would not do.

"I am sorry, Mione, I did not mean to upset you," Harry said with a shaky voice from his seat at the table. Being included willingly at the dining table was a momentous occasion, as well.

"I'll be fine," Hermione replied honestly. She would be, after a bit. "How are you?",

"Alright. I won't be showing you the back garden," Harry said, suddenly turning quite pale. "This is as far as I can go in this house."

"Harry, that's fine," Hermione said. She quietly finished crying and greeted Dudley as he sat at the table. Dudley looked even slimmer than he had at Christmas, she observed. He politely greeted them both as Petunia brought in a tray of food, followed shortly by the tea service.

"Is there anything else you would like to do this afternoon, Harry?" Aunt Petunia asked after they were all served. She noticed that Harry seemed to be picking at his food. Harry glanced up at this, and a small smile spread to his lips, and almost to his eyes.

"Yeah, Aunt Petunia. I'd like to take Hermione to the play park," he said. "I liked the swings, most of all."

"Oh, yes, we can all go! Can both of you walk to the park?" Petunia asked. Hermione and Harry nodded in the affirmative.

So plans were made, and they continued to chat, Harry becoming visibly more at ease, although both Petunia and Hermione saw he acted jumpy sometimes. Harry admitted later that he kept expecting to see and hear Uncle Vernon, just around the corner.

-Break-

On the Hogwarts Express (except Harry agreed with Hermione that if it were really 'express', then it would be modelled after the London Underground trains, and not a steam engine from another century), Neville was happy, and practically threw himself at Harry.

"I did it! I spoke with Grandmother, and she said that your mum can send her an owl with an invitation. She would like to talk to your mum, but most likely she will let me visit in summer!"

"I get to visit, too, mate!" Ron said as he dashed into their compartment last minute as the train began moving.

"Awesome!" Harry exclaimed. He had heard the word in a movie they had watched over the holiday, and rather loved it.

"I agree with Harry," Hermione said. "Neville, congratulations on overcoming your fear of your grandmother!"

"Thank you, Hermione," Neville said, blushing a bit. He was rather proud of himself.

"Now, I think we should get to business now," Hermione said, becoming the strong young woman she was. She raised her wand and put silencing charm on their compartment. "This is so no one will eavesdrop, of course. We know where the last Horcrux likely is located, and I think I know what it must be."

Note: Getting close to the end!