"So what happens now?"

They were once again ensconced in Professor Snape's rooms, sitting across from one another, only this time Snape had allowed the other two members of the Golden Trio into his private chambers- probably the first time in history that the infamous head of Slytherin invited three Gryffindors over for tea and biscuits. Ron was looking around curiously- he probably, like most Gryffindors, assumed that the Potions professor slept in a coffin when he was not in classes. It was probably a genuine shock that his rooms were not green, silver, and decorated with torture devices. Hermione, as Harry by now expected from her, had a muggle notebook and a quill.

"Potter has, I assume, told you the methods that the Dark Lord used to insure his continued existence."

"I don't think so," Hermione said hesitantly. "At least I don't remember. Although to be fair, I was more focused on the fact he had a...piece...of that monster in his scar."

"Fair enough." Snape rubbed his over-sized nose with a sigh, briefly closing his eyes, and Harry sensed through the link the distaste Snape felt at the thought of teaching children- even sixth-years- about the darkest magic to exist. "The one, and greatest fear that the Dark Lord has, although he would probably rather suffer the crucitus than admit it, is death. That is why he is so desperate to kill Potter- because Potter is the only one who truly threatens him. Naturally, being the man he is- if he can be called a man- he delved into dark magic to prolong his life, eventually touching the darkest magic of all- worse even than torture magic. The magic is Czech in origin, and the artifacts so created are called horcruxes."

"Horcruxes?" Hermione said, after a moment. "I don't think I've heard of those." She looked almost affronted at the thought that she had not heard of something.

"Any books mentioning or defining them were removed from the library seventy years ago, when professor Slughorn expressed his concern that Tom Riddle was actually contemplating making one- or, as we found out later, more than one."

"So Voldie made more than one of these horcrux things?" Ron asked.

"Yes. He made seven of them, in fact."

"But what are they, exactly? Are they what's keeping him from dying?"

Snape gave her a small nod of approval. "Yes. Until all of them are destroyed, the Dark Lord will still exist, even if just as a wraith. As to what they are...they are fragments of his soul."

Hermione realized the implications first. "He split his soul into seven pieces!?" she said, going green. "And Harry was one of them!?"

"That's sick!" was Ron's contribution.

"Indeed, Mr. Weasley. And yes, he did," Snape replied, rising and walking over to his cabinet to fetch her a calming drought, which she drank hurriedly, ignoring Ron's hiss of "don't just drink it," and Snape's subsequent "I assure you I do not poison students, Mr. Weasley, however many headaches they give me."

After a few moments, Hermione calmed down a little, still breathing quickly but less hysteria. "How are they made?" she asked, as her natural curiosity overcame her panic. She picked up the notebook and pen again, putting down the empty vial.

"I...you do not need to know the details. I believe it involves intentional violent murder and a rather gruesome ritual."

Ron gagged, and Harry himself felt rather sick, although he felt more so when the Potion Master's mind elaborated, detailing cannibalism and a few other unsavory aspects of said ritual. Hermione looked as if she almost wanted to know the details just to complete her notes. But before she could ask the question that seemed to be coalescing in her mind, Professor Snape went on.

"In any case, as long as his horcruxes exist, so will the Dark Lord."

"So how can we destroy them- I assume there's a way or you wouldn't have brought it up," Ron asked.

"Very astute, Mr. Weasley. There are several ways to destroy a horcrux: you can use basilisk venom, or fiendfyre, or you could merely hire the goblins to use kobeholdic magics to cleanse the artifact."

"Kobeholdic?" asked Hermione, picking up her quill again.

"Goblin magic. It is a little known fact that goblins have their own distinct type of wandless magic, which can accomplish many things which the most powerful wizard can only dream of. Their language, by the way, is also called kobeholdic, but the first wizard ambassadors, being unable to pronounce it, called it gobbledygook."

Hermione huffed at this, making a few quick sloppy notes, and Harry had a feeling she was going to start SIGR* to go along with SPEW.

"Do you know where the horcruxes are, though? It doesn't help us to know how to destroy them if you don't know what they are, though," Ron asked, seeming to grow bolder in addressing his once-hated teacher.

"Yes," Snape replied. "At least six of them, anyway. And three of those six are already destroyed."

"The diary! No ghost could possess someone, it's not metaphysically possible!" Hermione burst out suddenly. "Harry, didn't you say that you killed the diary with a basilisk tooth?"

"Yeah," was Harry's response. "The diary was one, right?" The second part was directed to Snape.

"Yes. So, of course, was your scar, and I told you last night that Dumbledore found the Gaunt family ring, which he destroyed, although not without foolishly putting it on."

"Is that what burnt his hand then?" asked Hermione.

Snape heaved a long sigh. "Yes. Heaven only knows why he would attempt to do so- either it was laden with compulsions or he is more senile than I gave him credit for. But he managed to destroy the horcrux within it without collapsing."

"Collapsing?! Is he ok?"

"No," replied Snape bluntly. "Although it could be worse, considering that until the Rite I had been oath-bound to kill him myself- thank Isis that Flamma Aeterna breaks unbreakable vows."

"It what?" "You what?" "Dumbledore is dying?" echoed from three distinct throats.

"Yes, yes, and yes," Snape replied tiredly. "I have no idea how the vow was broken, but it was- I can only assume that to be resurrected you must first die. The unbreakable vow was forced on me by Bellatrix and Narcissa- let me tell you, you do not want to refuse powerful witches."

Despite the seriousness of the topic, the boys couldn't help giggling and shooting glances at Hermione, who blushed and resolutely looked down at her notes.

"As for Dumbledore, I have delayed the spread of the curse, but unless I can work a miracle in the lab, he only has within a year."

This sobered the trio.

"Speaking of that, do you think I could help? With phoenix magic?"

"I do not know, although it probably couldn't make it any worse if you attempted it," Snape responded. "But at the moment we have other things to discuss."

"Like the rest of those horrible soul-pieces," said Ron at the same time as Hermione commented: "Shouldn't we try to come up with a cure first?"

"As much as I hate to say it, we do have to discuss horcruxes first; the Dark Lord is top priorty," Snape said reluctantly. "He has to go."

"So what are they- do you know?" Ron asked.

"Yes- Dumbledore does- sometimes- share his plans with me, and, more importantly, I was in the Dark Lord's inner circle. Bellatrix often boasts of her loyalty to the Dark Lord when drunk at revels- that was how I learned that one was Hufflepuff's cup. And of course I was there when Regulus was found to be a traitor. Regulus had told me of a locket laced with dark magic and the Dark Lord's signature before, but I had no idea what it was until I mentioned the locket in passing to Dumbledore, who had his own suspicions. The last two are the Dark Lord's infernal snake and something of Ravenclaw's, which is hidden somewhere in the castle. Dumbledore won't tell me what it is- something about not wanting the Dark Lord to torture the fact Dumbledore knew his secret out of me. Which is absurd, considering that I spied on him for a year before his first defeat and then ever since and he never even noticed I had occlumensy shields up, never mind tried to break them." He fell silent at that, and there was no sound but the continual scratching of Hermione's lite-ink quill on muggle paper.

"Do you know where they are?" Ron asked at last, as the silence was threatening to grow still more awkward.

"The snake Nagini is always with the Dark Lord- he almost cared for her in his twisted way, if only because she is part of his soul. We can probably get her on a raid, or perhaps if he sends her out on a mission.

"The locker was, I believe, stolen from it's hiding place, as Regulus was nearly killed by the inferi guarding it, eventually to be destroyed by the Dark Lord himself when he came to see who was tampering with the defenses- I was there when he was...executed." Snape swallowed hard. "As for the locket, I saw it in Grimmauld Place; it should still be there unless that bastard Mundungus- excuse my language- pocketed it along with the other things he keeps trying to steal.

"Hufflepuff's cup is probably going to be the hardest to get- up to and including the yet-unknown one- since according to Bellatrix it is in her private vault, if she was telling the truth. And considering how intoxicated she was, I am rather inclined to believe her."

"So we've already got the ring, the scar, and the diary, and we have to find a locket, a chalice, and a pet snake, along with some unidentified Founders' object hidden in Hogwarts?" Hermione recapped.

"Yes," was Snape's reply.

"So how are we going to get these things?" Ron asked.

Hermione paused to scribble a little more in her notebook. "And what's fiendfyre?"

"Fiendfyre is cursed fire which can destroy pretty much anything," Snape replied, "And the snake, as I have said before, will have to be snatched on a raid. The house elves can probably be enlisted to find the Founders' object; they know everything that goes on in the castle and they'll likely be willing to help. The locket, if it is not still at Grimmauld, will be a bit difficult, but I can probably threaten Dung or talk to a few contacts in Knock Turn Alley to get it back. The chalice will likely be the hardest."

"But we can still get it, right?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"Yes. Probably. If Black were still alive, he could just use Power of Attorney over her vaults- it is after all, in her own personal familial vault- and just take it. As it is, since he left his old will, which states that Potter is heir if the list of people he named previously were dead, Potter would have to wait until he is seventeen to be able to do the same, so that is out. And we're not breaking into Gringotts."

"Wait, hold on!" Harry exclaimed. "I'm Sirius's heir?"

Snape frowned. "You were never told? Albus said that you did not want to assume your duties because the mutt's death was too fresh, and he's been handling your duties and proxies on the Wizengamot and such."

Harry stared at him. "He what? I never even knew there was a will, especially not one making me the Black heir. And Dumbledore never told me anything about duties, except the fact that I have to kill Voldie or die trying."

Snape pinched his nose, and Harry had the unnerving privilege of being momentarily sucked into his mind before he managed to implement his new method of occlusion. "Right. Albus would do something like that. Probably wanted you to "enjoy your childhood" or some such rubbish. I did wonder why you were not at the reading..."

"What reading?"

"The will reading. I was required to be there." He sighed. "My bequest turned my robes into red and gold drag for a week- it would seem Black wanted to get one last prank in." He paused. "I had to request a portkey out of Gringotts."

All three Gryffindors couldn't help laughing, even though Snape scowled at them for it. Hermione at least tried to hide it.

"But it is disturbing that Albus never even mentioned the will to you," he continued, after they had sobered a little. "I wonder what else he "forgot" to mention."

Hermione turned the page of her notebook, evidently wanting to make a note. "But Professor Dumbledore aside, how are we going to get that chalice?" she continued after she had stopped writing.

"Well, there is a possibility that the goblins would give it to us- for the right price," Ron said, shocking all of them. "Bill- he's a Gringotts curse-breaker- says that there are some treaties that actually cancel client confidentiality. Of someone suspects someone of having really dark artifacts in their vault- like, dark with a capital "D" stuff, the goblins can authorize a search. If there isn't actually a really dark artifact in the vault, or something unrelated to the search turns up missing after they've let you in to search, then you have to pay a serious fine for breaching privacy and making them go to all that trouble."

"Do you know if a horcrux counts as one of those super-dark artifacts? I mean, they might have different rules..." Hermione said.

Snape shook his head. "It was forbidden even to say the word 'horcrux' in goblin territory. They're very sore about the subject since 1495, when Scarth Bluetooth was possessed by the horcrux of a wizard named Harold Toth. Sparked the Third Goblin War."

"Whoa, how did you know that?! Sir," Ron added after a pause.

"I actually listened in History. Shocking, I know, but I actually grew so bored playing naughts and crosses with Wilkes and Rosier that I actually began paying attention."

Harry snorted, and the other two stared, unused to seeing this side of their fearsome teacher. Ron in particular looked like his entire worldview- Slytherins are evil or at least just nasty gits- had been turned on its head.

"So there's a chance we could just get the goblins to hand it over? To us, and not the aurors?"

"They wouldn't give it to the aurors unless the ministry forced them," Snape responded. "And since the ministry doesn't even know that he has horcruxes, except maybe the Department of Mysteries..."

"But...maybe...shouldn't we involve the aurors? I mean, the ministry could help..." Hermione shrunk under the looks that the others were giving her.

"Do ministry and help ever fit together in the same sentence?" Harry asked. "They would either deny it or start panicking and making everyone else panic, intentionally or not, with the possible exception of the Department of Mysteries which probably does know, but is more focussed on trying to rebuild all the timeturners we smashed last year."

"...The timeturners you smashed?" Snape said after a moment. "When did that happen?"

"It was at the DOM last year- we managed to totally destroy the Time Room on our way to the Hall of Prophecy since we were being chased by Death Eaters."

Snape shook his head in a manner that one might almost call "fond" of one didn't know that Severus Snape didn't do fond. "We will discuss your tendencies for excessive rule-breaking and accidents which could potentially cause the world as we know it to ceise to exist another time." He said at last. "For now, we have to plan the takedown of my old boss, and then you have homework."

"I don't," said Hermione smugly, as the two boys groaned. "So can I help you hunt horcruxes?"

"You can help search for the one in Hogwarts, as I am not allowed to take you off the grounds without written permission from both the headmaster and your parents. I will, meanwhile, attempt to locate the locket and negotiate with the goblins. The snake will have to wait. Now go- I assume you have planned for a suitable excuse?"

"Fred and George are distracting everyone who asked, and I got Neville and Seamus to say Harry wasn't feeling well and 'Mione and I had a date for snogging in a closet." Ron flinched as Hermione fixed a steely gaze on him.

"You never told me that?!"

"I needed something believable and something they wouldn't question," Ron protested, looking a little scared. "I couldn't just say, 'Oh, we're having tea and biscuits with the head of Slytherin house, now, could I?"

"You could have told me you were going to use me as an excuse!" she retorted, and both boys edged a little farther away. Professor Snape's lips were twitching with amusement.

"I'm sorry, 'Mione, I didn't think!"

"No, you didn't," she agreed. "I think now you ought to be punished."

Harry edged farther away, blushing furiously, and Professor Snape banished the tea tray. Hermione and Ron were still staring at each other. That was until Professor Snape cleared his throat, and they both broke eye contact, turning an identical red, as if they had been drenched in paint.

"I do believe that dinner is in twenty minutes, and I doubt you'd want to miss it."

As if on cue, Ron's stomach growled. "Um, yeah, absolutely," he said, hastily composing himself. "Yeah. We should probably go." He was still looking at Hermione.

"Thanks for the tea, professor," Hermione said pointedly, shoving her quill and notebook into her bag.

"Yeah, uh, thanks," Ron repeated, looking, for once, too flustered to hurry to dinner. Harry grinned at the backs of the two of them and thanked Snape as well, before following them out the door.

"Ron, we're not done," was all Hermione said as they left Professor Snape's rooms.