Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. However, since Rowling discarded my favourite characters I picked them up and took them into my care to give them the love and attention they deserve...and occasionally give them reason to need that love and attention no matter how much they deserve it without needing a reason.

Warnings: Strong bromance, can't stomach men being extremely close without it being sexual, then this is not the story for you and you should hit the return button. And perhaps some language use.

Summary: Sirius and Remus set out to find and destroy the Horcruxes. Or better said: Dumbledore, pay attention! Sirius and Remus show how it is truly done, Marauder style.

Special thanks to Kitty for beta-ing this story for me and giving me endless support and inspiration for this series. Thank you for your endless patience with my grammar and for all the lessons you've taught me and are still trying to stamp into my brain. Also, thank you for helping me with the summary and title, you´re the best!

This story waves through several other stories in the series, but does not truly spoil anything for those and can be read alone without knowing the others.

It plays after Secret Lessons and spins through the events of Home, Nightly Conversations and A Not So Ordinary Day but ends before Taking Control takes place. Each chapter will indicate with which events they cross paths.

chapter 1

"Wait...go back for a moment. You think Voldemort made what?"

"Horcruxes, as in plural," Remus could hear the exhaustion in his best friend's voice, even without being able to see his pale face in the darkened small hand-sized mirror properly due to the darkness in the cave Sirius was contacting him from.

"What are Horcruxes?" The name rang no bell to him, but from Sirius' tone he could tell it was bad.

"To be very short, it's an object in which a Dark wizard hides a fragment of their own soul to attain immortality, basically splitting it apart. I'm not entirely sure how one is made other than that it requires a murder and you need a spell."

"And you think Voldemort made more than one of those?" Remus asked alarmed.

"Yeah, I have a hunch as to how many, but I think Slughorn might know the answer and that's why I would like for you to visit him," Sirius shifted on the ground, leaning more against a sleeping Buckbeak, the mirror catching the sliver of light that fell into the cage and Remus frowned at how exhausted the other man looked.

"Why Slughorn though? I know the man was a slimy benefiter, but he didn't support the Death Eaters and wouldn't have supported such an action," he forced himself to stay on topic and not voice his worry about the other's health.

"No, but he is the only source Riddle could have used to confirm his research and ask questions of. I already discovered Bullock's book was in the restricted area back in his school years, it wasn't removed until the fifties..."

"Wait, Bullock's book? There's a book that describes how to make those things?" Remus shivered in disgust.

"Yes, Secrets of the Darkest Arts. It is a book of medieval origin and describes various dark rituals in great detail. I've been forced to read it as a child, it was a horrible book."

"And it used to be in the restricted area? How do you know?" Remus asked as he brewed himself a cup of coffee, both to help keep him awake and because he had a feeling he'd need it.

"Moky told me, she had been ordered to bring the book to Dumbledore after a student asked questions about the subject."

"A house-elf? How does she remember after all that time?"

"Moky remembers because the book reeked of darkness, she showed me the memory to confirm it was indeed that book. It's been in Dumbledore's chambers since then and has been charmed against being taken without his permission."

"So you think Voldemort read all he needed to know in that book?" Remus knew Sirius would have tried to get his hands on the book already and had clearly failed so he didn't bother to ask.

"Yes," Sirius confirmed as he shifted again, clearly trying to get comfortable on the hard floor.

"Then why would he need to talk to Slughorn?"

"I don't know, I just know that Moky's daughter overheard part of the conversation between him and Slughorn about the subject and that she asked her mother what seven Horcruxes would do to a person."

"Seven?!" Remus choked on the sip of coffee he'd just taken, coughing harshly as the hot liquid shot down his windpipe.

"Are you all right?" Sirius glanced into the mirror he had rested against his legs so that he wouldn't have to keep his arms raised to be able to look at him.

"Yeah, sorry. What else did Moky's daughter say about the conversation?"

"Nothing, the little elf was very unwell and didn't live long after that. That's why I need to know exactly what Slughorn and Riddle discussed," Sirius answered once he was sure Remus was done coughing.

"And Slughorn is the only one who has that information," Remus understood why his friend wanted him to go to their old Potions professor as he could hardly go himself.

"But you haven't told me what makes you assume he's actually gone through with it. Splitting your soul sounds risky, even when searching for immortality."

"I know, but do you remember what people said about Riddle? How his appearance changed so drastically over the years? I spoke to Peeves and he confirmed that Riddle's features changed a lot for no clear reason and that a Horcrux could indeed be a reason for that."

"Peeves knows what Horcruxes are?" Remus took a new sip from his coffee, taking care to swallow before asking his question.

"He's very old, Rem, and knows more about magic than most think. He doesn't know how to destroy one, but he knows what it does to the maker and believes it could be the cause in Riddle's case."

"All right, I'll take his word for it. So say I get the truth out of Slughorn and he confirms there are indeed seven, how would we discover what they are?"

"I have my suspicions about some, but I'm still researching that," Sirius admitted. "I know one was destroyed already, though."

"By whom?" surprised Remus returned his empty cup to the table.

"Harry. He told me about what happened in his second year..."

"With the Chamber of Secrets, I heard the stories while I was teaching," Remus frowned, not having been happy to learn a twelve year old had faced a Basilisk. "You think the Basilisk was a Horcrux?"

"No, I think the Diary was. From what Harry described, I'm ninety-nine percent certain it was a Horcrux. It's what got me investigating further into the subject. Because if Voldemort has Horcruxes, no one would be able to kill him."

"So they need to be destroyed as it would fit your suspicion that the bastard's not truly gone and won't be as long as these Horcruxes are there. And you have a hunch about the others?" Remus asked.

"Yes, but I'm fairly certain about one of them," Sirius admitted. "I'll need to do some more research, but it will have to wait until after the Triwizard Tournament has ended. I don't want to be too far away with the third task only a few days away."

"It's the twenty-fourth, right? Is Harry ready?"

"As ready as anyone can be. We've been meeting a couple of times in the Room of Requirement now and he's got all the spells I could think of down. I taught him a bit of duelling just in case he runs into trouble."

"Knowing his luck, there's a good chance of that. I've been meaning to ask though, why didn't you just stay there? You would be safe in there, wouldn't you be?"

"I've thought about it, but the room doesn't have access to the books I need, so I've been searching in Hogsmeade and that would be difficult if I stayed at the castle."

"Found anything?" Remus didn't think he had and wasn't disappointed when Sirius shrugged.

"Not really, that is why I need you to go to Slughorn. I need to see that memory to get more clues; maybe there is some hint to others that Riddle was too arrogant to hide."

"And what do you plan to do while I visit Slughorn?" Remus knew his friend well enough to be able to tell when the other had some sort of plan formed.

"I'll be going to the one place I know has all the answers I am looking for."

"What place would have...you can't be seriously considering going back there!" Remus exclaimed as he realised which place Sirius was talking about.

"Do you have a better idea?" Sirius looked resigned, like he'd known Remus would argue and he did.

"Any idea is better than that one! After all that's happened there, what almost happened..." Remus trailed off, swallowing thickly as he remembered the sight of his best friend´s still bruised body after that Christmas holiday.

"I don't have another choice..."

"There is always a choice, Sirius. What reason could possibly be good enough to return to that hellhole?"

Sirius paused, visibly debating with himself for a long moment.

"Can I count on you to keep all of this between us?"

"Of course," Remus frowned.

"I mean it, Remus, Dumbledore can't know about this or he'll try to stop me."

"I solemnly swear that I will not share a word of what's being said between us," Remus vowed without hesitation and the old vow seemed to be enough for his dearest friend, just like it always was.

"I believe Harry is a Horcrux."

"What?!" whatever Remus had been expecting, it hadn't been that and he stared at Sirius in the mirror in shock as the other's expression tightened.

"Think about it, he's got those nightmares and headaches. He can sense it when Voldemort is nearby and he's a Parselmouth."

"Harry's a Parselmouth?" Remus blinked surprised at that information. "Since when?"

"He's known since the summer before starting at Hogwarts that he could talk to snakes. Yet we both know he was bitten by one when he was a toddler. Parselmouths are not attacked by snakes, not unless they are controlled by either another Parselmouth or magic."

"By Merlin...how...where...you think it's in the scar? Voldemort made a Horcrux out of him when..." Remus put the pieces together.

"Yes," Sirius confirmed and Remus cursed. "Although I am not convinced he made one out of him on purpose. It would be both stupid and risky to use a living creature as a vessel for one and from what we know about what happened that night, it might have been what destroyed him in the end."

"What do you mean? I thought Lily sacrificed herself for Harry and that was what destroyed Voldemort?" Remus asked.

"It doesn't fit. Even if Lily used blood magic to protect Harry, it wouldn't destroy a body the way it did. But if Voldemort made multiple Horcruxes, then his soul and body would have been unstable and the act of trying to kill an innocent, blood magic protected child would backfire on him."

"You mean..."

"I think that what was left of his soul was ripped into two when he tried to kill Harry, destroying his already unstable body and causing part of his ripped soul to latch onto the only living creature nearby, Harry, nestling in the wound where the Killing Curse hit and rebound."

"And the rest of his soul, the main part?" Remus was horrified by what he was hearing.

"Harry told me that Voldemort's face was visible on the back of Quirrell's head, like a possession. And that it turned into a ghostly shade when fleeing. So I believe he's been reduced to a shade or ghostly form after his soul was split."

"What are you not telling me?" Remus' eyes narrowed as Sirius bit his lip.

"A nightmare Harry told me about last summer. He said Voldemort had a rudimentary body and that he fed on venom in his nightmare."

"And that means something to you?"

"Well...I vaguely recall reading about a ritual that restores a body in that way. It requires one to drink a combination of unicorn blood and snake venom to sustain that form. I didn't think much of it when Harry first told me about the nightmare, until I remembered that Harry said Voldemort, while possessing Quirrell, drank unicorn blood."

"Which is needed for that ritual? You think he is trying to restore his body?" Remus asked sharply.

"I doubt that is anything new, but something he'd not succeed in alone. But if Harry's right and Wormtail is at his side, it could be possible he's working on a way to regain human form."

"And it couldn't have been just a nightmare?" Remus tried, hoping against his better judgement it was just that.

"Not if Harry is indeed carrying a Horcrux."

"Can you destroy it without harm coming to him?"

"That is what I need Grimmauld Place for. It is where I first learned of their existence and I know there are more dark books there than anywhere else. If there is an answer, that is where I have to look."

"And the residents? Do you really intent to walk in there while that...that..."

"Walburga Black died many years ago and my grandfather passed away three years ago. I'm the last Black left."

"Good riddance," Remus grumbled and Sirius smiled faintly. Remus debated with himself for a moment as he knew Sirius would go there regardless of what he might want. For Harry he'd walk through fire and nothing Remus did or said would stop him, not that he would even attempt to do so. "All right, but I'm going with you."

"Remus?" Sirius blinked, surprised at his words.

"James would be livid with me in the afterlife if I let you step foot into that hellhole and I'd never forgive myself if I let you do so alone," he nodded to himself. "I'll pay Slughorn a visit before the end of the week and then we'll go to Grimmauld Place together."

"I'll wait for you then," Sirius accepted his clear request without argument. "Be on your guard with Slughorn though."

"I will be. Do you have any excuse for me to go see him?"

"Tell him you are making a scrapbook for Harry and are looking for pictures of Lily. He's bound to have several from his club meetings."

"Good thinking, what is it?" Remus tensed as Sirius glanced up abruptly.

But he relaxed as the man gave a small smile and a nod to whatever he'd caught sight of.

"Dobby's here so I have to go."

"All right, tell him and Harry hi for me and be careful."

"You too, oh, and Remus?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

With a nod, Remus ended the connection.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Visiting Slughorn turned out to be relatively easy. Sirius' excuse worked perfectly and Remus talked the man into sharing some stories behind the photos while enjoying a drink and it didn't take long for the man to be drunk enough to take the memory from him without a problem.

Remus had to swallow thickly as Sirius' Intel had been right and he left quickly afterwards, erasing the action from the man's mind after a brief hesitation and leaving a note to thank him for the photos.

As he Apparated home, he felt his mirror vibrate and pulled it out of his pocket with a smile.

"Sirius, you were right..."

"Voldemort is back," Sirius cut him off immediately.

"What? How?" Remus' heart clenched.

Even though Sirius had already alerted him that was what the man seemed to be trying, it was still a shock and he had hoped to never to see it happen in his life.

"Wormtail and Barty Crouch Junior," the anger in Sirius' eyes was unmistakable and Remus cursed mentally at the knowledge their old friend had indeed been involved in bringing that horrible monster back.

"I thought Barty Crouch died in Azkaban," Remus frowned as he focused on the other part his last remaining friend had said.

"So did I, it's kind of a long story but to be short it turns out that his mother and he switched places and Crouch Senior kept him hidden but was overpowered and put under the Imperius Curse by Wormtail in the end. Crouch Junior surprised Moody and took him hostage to be able to impersonate him and put Harry's name in the Goblet so that he could get Harry to Wormtail. The rat used Harry's blood in a resurrection ritual."

Remus had no doubt that if that was the short version, the long version was much more complicated and horrific, but he pushed it aside as he tried to combine what he already knew and was now learning.

"So the protection Lily left on Harry..."

"Is gone because Voldemort now shares his blood," Sirius looked weary and tired all of a sudden.

"Damn. Harry?"

"Shaken but alive. He got away despite the presence of several Death Eaters and a newly resurrected Voldemort; brought the dead body of another student, Cedric I think his name was, back with him."

"Cedric was a good kid," Remus rubbed a hand over his face, pondering over the unfairness of it all.

While he mourned the death of a young man, he couldn't help but be relieved James' son had survived. He hadn't had much communication with the boy since leaving Hogwarts, but he made sure to keep in touch and had grown closer to the teenager as a result. "What happens now?"

"Dumbledore wants me to find the old crowd and alert them about the situation."

"What? That would be suicide!" Remus exclaimed outraged. "What is Dumbledore thinking?!"

Remus couldn't believe the man would send Sirius to contact a bunch of highly skilled duellists, all whom believed him to be a traitor and a murderer. It would get his best friend killed, especially as the other's wandless magic wasn't as strong as it had been and he was wandless.

"Yes, I wondered about that, too. That is why I have to ask for your help once more. Not only because of the suicide rate of that mission, but also because I'm not willing to leave Harry, not tonight."

"Of course, I'll warn the old members still alive while you stay there. How's he holding up?" Remus asked, putting the memory he'd collected safely away and looking up the addresses he'd need.

"Hurt, traumatized and scared. He watched Wormtail kill Cedric right before his eyes and apparently duelled with Voldemort."

"Good thing you taught him some duelling in your meetings," Remus breathed out relieved, well aware that it had probably saved the kid's life.

"That and he's got the luck of a billion Felix Felicis. I swear the kid's got both the worst luck and a battalion of guardian angels on his shoulder at the same time with all he's seen. But despite everything, he's holding his own, too well for what happened today."

"Yes, he is much older in spirit than he should be," Remus agreed as he refreshed his memory of the addresses he'd need to Apparate to.

"What are you doing?" Sirius frowned.

"I'm looking up the addresses of where they all live so I can Apparate there."

"Why? Your memory isn't that bad, is it?"

"No, but I've not seen most of them for years and can't remember where they all live, so I'm refreshing my memory," Remus turned more pages in his address book as he sought the last address he'd need.

"Why haven't you...please tell me you didn't throw yourself in solitude all those years," Remus could hear in Sirius' voice that he already knew the answer so he simply shrugged.

"I didn't want anyone close, not after all that happened."

"I know, I just wish you'd at least stayed in touch with some of them. But from the amount of pages you've been turning I can see you haven't. Are you sure you'll be all right, going to see them all?" the worry in his voice made Remus smile.

"I'll be fine. More importantly though, how are you going to return to Harry's side unnoticed?"

"I've asked Dobby to get me into Gryffindor Tower so that I could pick up James' invisibility cloak and place some protective spells on Harry's possessions. It is not much, but it might just keep him safe now that his strongest protection has failed. I borrowed Harry's wand for the moment so that I could do so, he'll have been given the rest of the sleeping potion when I left so I assume I have about half an hour left before he wakes again," Sirius let him change the subject.

"He can shake of the Dreamless Sleep Draught?"Remus asked surprised.

"Yes, though I think it has more to do with a lousily brewed potion than his own stubbornness. It didn't smell very strong when Madam Pomfrey uncorked it."

"Right. You better make sure you are there when he wakes up again, then. He'll need you," Remus nodded, frowning as he spotted several house-elves in the background. "Where are you now?"

"The kitchens. Figured I should pick up something light for him to eat for when he wakes up. I have no doubt that he was too nervous to eat much before the task and will need to eat something when he wakes up again, even if he's not hungry."

"Make sure to take along some chocolate too, it'll help after such a traumatic experience," Remus advised.

"Already have four bars and two cans of hot chocolate in my bag," Sirius smiled faintly. "I remember their healing use well, Moony."

"I know," Remus smiled despite the topic of conversation and glanced at the last address. "I'll be going to Dung first; he's the easiest to locate at this time of night. I assume our previous plans will be delayed even though I have retrieved what you asked of me?"

"No, I need to hurry more than ever now to both discover the others and find out how to destroy them. Dumbledore wants me to lay low at your place once the others are warned, so I'll come to you as soon as I'm sure Harry will be all right. Good work at getting it so quickly, though."

"What are you thinking of doing?" Remus wondered at the thoughtful expression on his best friend's face that meant he was formulating a plan.

"I'm thinking that the Order will need a meeting place. I'll need time to search the Black library, even if you're helping me. If we can get everyone to gather at that hell-hole, it would be easier to spend every free moment searching."

"You're thinking of offering the house as Headquarters?" Remus deduced the younger man's thought pattern. "You'd be stuck there as Dumbledore wouldn't let you leave out of so called safety reasons."

"I'm aware, but it would be the easiest solution and I can work around Dumbledore's wishes. The place is secure and with a little luck, I'll be able to get Harry there soon, too. Dumbledore won't be able to deny he'd be safer there than anywhere else – no, he's not too fond of Chocolate Frogs, Pippy. He thinks they are weird, but thanks," Sirius directed the last part to whatever house-elf had caught his eye.

"I should leave you to it," Remus smiled faintly at the familiar sight of Sirius interacting with the house-elves, missing the elf in question's reply. "We'll suggest the place to Dumbledore when he contacts us here, and if he accepts I'll think up a reason as to why I need to stay with you."

"You're worried I'll lose what sanity I have left if I'm left there on my own and refuse to let me stay there alone, James would never forgive you if you did. And just to be thorough, I'll ask you to keep me company between the missions he will no doubt want to send you on again, in his presence so he can't argue."

"That would work," Remus nodded, smiling as a peculiar house-elf, wearing half a dozen woollen hats, drew near with a bag. "I think your ride is ready. You be careful and focus on Harry for now."

"I will, you be careful too. Keep me posted so I know you are safe."

"I'll leave messages so I won't disturb Harry's sleep, I'll see you soon."

Remus took a deep breath as Sirius ended the connection and stared at his own reflection in the small mirror, allowing his thoughts to wander to what had happened in the last war for a long moment before shaking his head to clear his mind.

He had people to warn who would be anything but happy with the news he'd bring.