"Let's go destroy another Horcrux." Harry answered. "Voldemort hid a ring in the house his family used to live in. The protections around it won't be too bad since I can speak parseltongue, but there's a pretty nasty curse on the ring itself. We should be fine as long as we don't touch it."
"Sounds like a good way to spend the morning." Sirius agreed. "That will leave three Horcruxes and Voldemort himself. Perhaps the end of this war is finally in sight."
"Sirius, the war just started." Harry reminded him.
"For you maybe, but for me the first war never really ended. I've fought and struggled for the last two decades, and I'm tired of it Harry. I've seen too many good men die, your father and Moony most of all." Sirius explained. "I'm glad you're here, pup. This would be a lot harder if you weren't."
"There's nowhere I'd rather be." Harry answered truthfully.
"Go get ready, we'll leave in an hour." Sirius replied, getting up to prepare himself as well. As Harry watched his godfather leave the room he wondered how he was really coping with Remus' death. They had been friends since they were first years at Hogwarts and Harry could only guess at how he would react if a friend like Hermione had died. Sirius didn't strike him as the type of person who would want to talk about his feelings either, but Harry knew he would need to be there for his godfather if he did.
...
An hour later Sirius made his way downstairs finally ready to leave. Not knowing how dangerous their mission would be, Sirius decided to assume the worst and was fully prepared for a fight. His normal clothes had been replaced with Auror issue battle gear which included a heavy cloak with numerous charms on it which was supposed to be able to stop or weaken some spells. In truth it wasn't quite as effective as advertised, but it was better than nothing. The cloak appeared heavy and cumbersome, but was actually quite light and easy to move in.
"You should know, you look ridiculous in that." Harry commented as he tried not to laugh.
"Laugh it up, kiddo. I'm having one of these made for you, too. I'd give you mine if it could fit, but I think you're still a year or two away from being my size." Sirius replied with a smile. "I've got to make sure you're staying safe."
"We really shouldn't face any trouble. I know what is protecting the ring and how to get past it." Harry said.
"It's better to be safe. We have the advantage of Voldemort not knowing what we're doing, but there is no telling how long that will last. And if he did find out he would stop at nothing to prevent us from completing out task." Sirius commented. Harry nodded, knowing it was the truth.
"If you're ready, I can apparate us there." Harry said. Sirius walk towards him and put his hand on Harry's shoulder, waiting for him to begin the apparition process. A moment later Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on his destination and instantly they both felt as if they had been forced through a narrow tube. Thankfully, the journey did not last long and soon they found themselves standing somewhere completely different.
Sirius looked around and saw that he was standing on a hill overlooking a small village. A cluster of houses and tiny shops lay off to the east, and he could see a few people walking through the streets. The residents were dressed as muggles, leading Sirius to doubt that there was much of a wizard population in the area. North of town a large, but evidently abandoned, old house stood apart from the rest of the villiage.
"What is this place, Harry?" Sirius asked as he continued to survey his surroundings.
"This is the village of Little Hangleton, the home of Voldemort's parents." Harry said. "That graveyard near the big house is where Voldemort was resurrected. His father was buried there."
"What exactly do you know about this town?" Sirius wondered.
"Just things related to the Horcrux." Harry answered. "I know that large house I just pointed out belonged to the Riddle family, and that's where Voldemort murdered them. He used their deaths to split his soul and create the Horcrux we're looking for. They were muggles and he hated them all. The ring itself he stole from his uncle Morfin who lived in the shack where it's now hidden. He also framed his uncle for the deaths of the Riddle family."
"I'm actually a little surprised he didn't kill his uncle too." Sirius said.
"No, he just let Azkaban take care of that." Harry replied with a frown. "He hated the Gaunts, too, but for different reasons. The fact that they were wizards didn't change that." Harry paused for a moment to see if he could remember anything else, but that was as far as the knowledge he had been given went. "Come on, the house is about a mile west of here." Sirius nodded and they began walking to the west. Sirius didn't see a house at first, but Harry seemed to know where he was going so he just followed his lead. The village was surrounded by farm and ranch land and looked quite peaceful from the path they were walking on. It seemed strange to him that the worst dark lord in a millenium had his origins here or that one of the most vile pieces of dark magic imaginable was hidden there. Eventually he saw a small house set at the edge of a dense forest. There did not appear to be anything noteworthy about it, but he knew looks could be deceiving.
"Stop." Harry commanded as they approached it. He took out his wand and Bubblehead charms on both himself and Sirius. "The air inside the house is tainted with one piece of a complex poison." Harry explained. "By itself it does nothing, but when combined with the other part that looks like a layer of dust it can be deadly."
"Do you have to breathe in the dust?"
"No, if you touch it the powder can go straight through your skin and into your bloodstream." Harry said. "We'll get rid of it once we're inside, I just wanted to be careful." Harry walked towards the door to the house but did not attempt to open it. He instead tapped his wand against the door and waited. For a moment nothing happened, but then a large snake head seemed to emerge from the door itself and began to hiss angrily at him.
" I am the rightful heir of Salazar Slytherin ." Harry said in parseltongue. " I demand you grant me entrance to recover that which I have hidden ." The magical snake looked at him carefully for a moment, but then nodded and became part of the door again. A loud click was heard and the door slowly swung open on its own. "We're in!"
"Well done." Sirius commented. "What would have happened if you tried to open the door without talking to the snake first?"
"Electrocution, to start with." Harry said. "Then, if you were still alive, your body would be covered by flames which are nearly impossible to put out."
"What a nice place." Sirius said. "Shall we go in?"
"Sure." Harry answered, turning back to the house. He walked in and immediately began casting "Tergeo" which allowed him to quickly remove all of the poisonous powder from the room. After a few minutes of cleaning Harry stopped and looked around to make sure he had gotten everything. Confident he had, he cancelled the Bubblehead charm and waved Sirius inside. "Come on, it's safe."
....
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