A sirius matter

Chapter 37 - Summer Studies

After the Longbottoms and Weasleys had left, Dumbledore asked, "Harry, would it be all right if I spoke with you alone?"

"Certainly, sir. We can talk in my bedroom."

Harry led him to a room with light brown carpet and light green walls. The queen-size four-poster bed had a dark green blanket over it, with matching bed curtains. There was a wooden desk with a matching chair in there as well.

"What can I do for you, Professor?" asked Harry politely, once he'd closed the door.

"I can see that you've taken your role in the prophecy very seriously, and have worked diligently to prepare. I firmly believe you could pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. today if you wanted to, possibly even your N.E.W.T."

Harry's ears turned pink. "Thank you, sir. Hermione's done all the training with me, and would do better on those tests."

"Indeed, she does deserve as much credit as you, possibly more, because she doesn't have a prophecy hanging over her head. My point, though, is that I feel that I should have a hand in your training. Before you can defeat Riddle, there are a few things you must understand, such as why he didn't die when his killing curse at you backfired."

Harry grinned. He truly loved having one-up on the Headmaster. "If this is about the Horcruxes, I already know about them, though I don't know how many are left. I would like to help destroy them, sir."

Dumbledore did his best to not appear shocked, but Potter could tell he was. "Is there anything I've told Mr. Black about that he hasn't repeated to you?"

Although Lupin had actually been the first one to tell Harry about Horcruxes, he saw no reason to get the werewolf in trouble. He grinned. "Not that I'm aware of. He feels that I have the right to know what I'm up against."

"I see," the aged man acquiesced. "May I assume that Miss Granger is aware of the Horcruxes as well?"

"Yes, sir."

"I must admit that I, myself, am not certain how many Horcruxes Tom has made. I have a theory, but I wouldn't stake the life of every member of the human race on that theory."

"What is your theory?" asked Harry, curiously.

The headmaster sighed. "I would rather wait until I can confirm my suspicion. I've spent the last year attempting to set an appointment to speak to Tom Riddle's former head of House, whom I believe may have some insight into this matter, but he has continually, what is the expression, brushed me off. I believe it would be prudent to arrive at his location unannounced, perhaps tonight. I believe that you, as well as your godfather, could be most useful during that conversation. I believe that you still sometimes struggle with your temper?" asked Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.

-ASM-

Although Harry had wanted to include Hermione as well, Dumbledore insisted that, although she was more than qualified, an extra person would've gotten in the way of that night's endeavor. That seemed to placate her when she was informed of their plans. And so it was that Sirius, Harry and Dumbledore appeared a block away from an old mansion with three small pops.

"It'll be interesting to see old Slughorn again," commented Sirius happily.

"Indeed," agreed Dumbledore. "This way."

They soon came upon the large gate to what appeared to be a mansion. The headmaster pointed his wand at it, and it swung open. He continued walking in front of his two companions up the sidewalk until they came to the porch, where Dumbledore stopped.

The door had been blasted off of its hinges and into the house. "Wands at the ready," Albus said calmly as he stepped inside.

The sight that greeted them was not a pleasant one. The room was in shambles. A few end tables were lying on their sides, their contents on the floor. The couch was upside-down. Harry glanced at the large television, to see that its screen was broken. Several small holes were on the blood-stained white walls, as though many spells had hit them.