Harry felt much better after he'd showered. Remus was waiting by the front door, and offered his arm to Harry. Harry hollered out a bye before they disapparated.

Remus took a moment to look around, before finding the right direction. "This way." He said. "So, while we walk, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?" Harry asked.

"Have you been using your wand lately?" Remus asked. "I just saw you using it at the ministry, and it seemed... Odd."

"Oh." Harry said. "I've been faking it. I'm just holding it, not using it."

"Really?" Remus asked, intrigued. 

"Yeah." Harry pulled his wand from his pocket, and cast lumos. It appeared completely normal, until Harry took the wand from his hand, and the small orb of light stayed in place several inches from his hand. "Like that."

"That is clever." Remus said. "How have you been adjusting to the new magic, otherwise?"

Harry sighed. "It's very weird, being able to see magic. Seeing it just existing, lingering in the air. It almost gets overwhelming in class sometimes, because there just gets to be so much. It's hard to see anything but the magic. And I can feel it too, often."

Remus nodded. "New senses are often very confusing. Anyway, what are we looking for in Little Hangleton?"

"The Gaunt shack." Harry said. 

"Gaunt?"

"Descendants of the Peverells." Harry said. 

"The Peverells?" Remus asked. "What are you expecting to find here?"

"A cursed ring." Harry said. "I don't want you touching it, by the way."

"Well, if you say it's cursed I'm not going to go sticking it on my finger. But why can you touch it?" Remus asked.

Harry sighed. "The curse... It messes with your mind. I erm. Have some experience fighting that influence."

Remus looked like he was trying to figure out how to protest in some way that made sense.

"It's okay, though." Harry said. "We'll destroy it before it can become too much of a problem."

Remus hummed thoughtfully.

"Do you mind if I take a quick scout ahead?" Harry asked.

"What do you mean?" Remus frowned.

"A bit of a bird's eye view?" Harry said.

"Oh." Remus smiled. "Go ahead. I'll just be walking."

"I'll just be a minute." Harry said, and shot into the air. He felt the wind through his feathers, and saw the world below. Remus was watching him with a soft expression.

It felt wonderful to be back in the air. Harry loved the freedom. How it made all the problems fade away when he just looked ahead at the horizon.

Harry scanned the area for signs of the shack. Eventually he spotted a sign that gave him a good inclination to the location of the shack. He went back to Remus, his landing awkward. He had shifted back to his form just a bit too early, resulting in him dropping from a foot higher than he intended too.

Remus' arms shot out and helped prevent Harry from tumbling over. Harry grumbled.

"Troubles?" Remus asked with a bit of a smile.

"I'm used to being taller." Harry said. "That was supposed to work out fine."

"Things don't always work out how they're supposed to." Remus said. "Did you see it?"

"Not exactly, but there was a landmark. We're close." Harry said. 

"Excellent." Remus said.

"Can I ask you something?" Harry asked.

"Sure."

"I know we've learned about werewolves in class, but... Is there anything you can tell me to help Draco?"

Remus smiled softly, and he spent the rest of the walk to the Gaunt shack telling Harry all about it.

The shack was in even more disrepair than in the memory. It was barely still standing at all- most of the roof had caved in, and the part that remained was held in place by a tree that had grown through the floorboards. One wall was rotted away, another was close to joining it.

"How are we going to find a ring in this mess?" Remus asked.

"It's going to be protected..." Harry said. He closed his eyes, and looked for magic. His senses called him over to a corner, and he used his magic to pry a few floorboards loose. He sensed something further down, deeper into the earth. 

He sent his magic to it, and called it to him like he was a magnet. A mound of earth began to shift as the object was forced up. Harry caught the small box as it burst through the last of the ground.

"Is that it?" Remus asked.

"I think it's inside. But there's some kind of... lock..." Harry frowned, and inspected it, trying to see how to unlock it. He didn't want to accidentally curse himself by being careless.

"Be careful." Remus said, warily.

"I am." Harry said. He set the box down, and carefully pulled at the strings of magic, and began to untie the knot. He slowly sent the magic back into the ground as he pulled it apart.

The box cracked open. Inside was the ring, sitting on a plush cushion. Harry plucked it out.

A crack sounded from somewhere nearby. Remus and Harry's heads snapped to look at each other. Apparition. Someone was near. Someone was coming.

Harry shoved the ring onto a finger, and wrapped the box in enough magic that it looked similar. He threw it down the hole, and used his magic to shove the dirt back into it.

"Come on!" Remus hissed.

Harry climbed halfway out the window before he made the floorboards shift back into place. Remus pulled him along, and they ran into the woods. They jumped over a log, and fell to the forest floor to hide behind it. Harry and Remus both cast as many illusionary and notice-me-not spells as they could remember.

They waited, holding their breaths. After a minute, they heard footsteps on boards. Harry pressed his face into the dirt to try and peer under the log. 

He blew on a leaf, just enough to get it to move. He had a tiny view of a single upper corner of the window. He doubted he would be able to see a face, to get any clue of who it was. And then he saw it, when the person turned to leave.

They passed by the window, and Harry saw the tip of a pointed blue hat. 

~~~

Sirius turned to Draco. 

"So. How are you doing with all... All this?" Sirius asked. "I know I was glad to escape my family, but... What about you?"

"Malfoy Manor... Doesn't feel like home. It hasn't for a long time. Father... Well. He nearly worships Voldemort. I find it... Repulsive." Draco absently rubbed at a nonexistent mark on his forearm. "Mother is just trying to keep her family together."

"She doesn't care about Voldemort?"

"Only to support Father. If Father weren't so... Well. Loyal." Draco said it with a bit of disgust. "It doesn't matter. I'm not going to dwell on the if's."

"Sounds good to me." Sirius said. "Well. Would you like to help me catalog the dark objects in this god forsaken house?"

Draco raised his brows, curious. "Catalog?"

"There are so many in here. I'm supposed to find them all and write them down, so that we can figure out how to get rid of them." 

"Oh." Draco said. "That does sound interesting."

~~~

"There is no way this isn't cursed." Draco said, examining a long hat pin with a wicked point. He was not stupid enough to touch it.

"It's not cursed, it was just her favorite." Sirius said. "Which means that it is cursed, just not magically."

Draco grinned. "I'm still not taking any chances with that one."

"You know, that is fair." Sirius said, looking over his mother's treasured nick knacks. "We should see if Harry can do his magic in here. He'll probably make this go a whole lot quicker."

Draco stood straighter. "Then why are we even wasting time doing this in the first place?"

"Because I'm bored."

"Well. I don't know how to help you with that-" Draco suddenly had an idea. "Wait, yes I do. Come with me."

Sirius, intrigued, followed Draco into his and Harry's room. He was even more interested when Draco started rifling through Harry's trunk.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked.

Draco held aloft a large piece of folded parchment. "Borrowing something he's been borrowing." Draco grinned. "Would you like to see what people are doing in Hogwarts?"

Sirius' eyes lit up. "How did you know about that?"

"He told me." Draco said. "Now, are you interested or not?"

"Let's sit on the floor. That way we can see the whole thing." 

Draco handed the map to Sirius. The Marauder took it, and whispered the magic words. A grin of nostalgia spread across his features as he laid it out on the floor.

"Why is everyone running around the Great Hall?" Sirius asked. 

"I have no idea." Draco said. "But oh- what's this?"

Sirius leaned over to look at the corner Draco was looking at curiously. "Oh my." Sirius grinned. 

"In your expert opinion, what exactly do you think George Weasley is doing with Camille Ravencroft?" Draco asked.

"Snogging. For sure." Sirius said. "Where's Fred, then?" 

"Oh, he's over here. Looks like he's having a spat with his little sister." Draco said.

"What makes you say that?" Sirius asked.

"He keeps backing up."

Sirius snorted, and beamed. "What an exciting morning." 

~~~

"That was far too close." Remus said as soon as they were back inside Grimmauld Place. "Did you see who it was?"

"Dumbledore." Harry said. "It was Dumbledore."

"You saw him?" Remus asked.

"A hat. And he's the only one who would know about the Gaunt's connection to Voldemort." Harry said. 

Remus frowned. "Why is the ring important?"

"I thought I heard your voices." Draco said from the top of the stairs. "Things go well?"

"We were almost seen." Harry said.

"What?" Draco stood straighter.

"We got there just before Dumbledore did." Harry said. "I don't know if he knows we were there..."

"Were you looking for a-?" Draco demanded.

"Yes-"

"Why the bloody hell didn't you tell me?" Draco exclaimed. "I would have gone with you!"

"What would you have been able to do? We don't know if you still have the trace-" Remus said.

"Fine. But you still should have told me." Draco said.

"Should have told you what?" Sirius asked, holding the folded Marauder's map.

"What he was going to get." Draco said with a pointed look to Harry. "It's fine. He won't do it again."

Harry nodded.

Draco's gaze suddenly noticed the ring on Harry's hand. "Are you wearing it?" 

"Yes, I was worried it would fall out of a pocket while we ran." Harry said, and pulled it off. "So sorry to be sensible."

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"Well. I'm gonna be doing my thing." Harry said, and left for the closest thing to a living room there was.

He took a seat on one of the armchairs, and set the ring down on the table. He closed his eyes, and focused his senses toward the ring. It sent goosebumps down his spine to feel the dark magic slithering around it. He absently rubbed at his arms.

Harry didn't get very far into his investigating before he felt Draco's presence approach him. He opened his eyes and saw the basilisk fang in Draco's hand. Harry panicked and snatched it from him.

Draco quirked a brow. "Oh really?"

"Sorry. It's just- It's cursed. Do you remember Dumbledore's black hand in the memory I showed you?" Harry said. There was enough recognition in Draco's eyes that Harry continued. "Yeah. That was because he tried to destroy the ring. I'm trying to get rid of the curse so we can destroy it. That's all."

"Ah." Draco said. "Then I shall thank you for saving my hand."

"No need to thank me, my reasons were selfish enough anyway." Harry said lightly.

"Oh?" Draco asked. "Is this about my 'pretty hands'?"

"Maybe." Harry grinned.

Draco leaned down and kissed the top of Harry's head. "You destroy a curse, I'll grab you lunch."

"Sounds good." Harry said, and turned back to the ring.

He spent a while carefully testing the waters of the curse, seeing how it reacted, where it was strong, where it was weak... When Draco brought him food Harry munched on it as he frustratedly tried to figure out how to dismantle it. 

Eventually he managed to get a hold of it in such a way that he could... Peel it off, in a sense. Carefully pulling it away, slowly, from the ring. Doing his best not to touch his magic any closer to Voldemort's soul than he needed to.

Harry felt lightheaded when he finally managed it. "I got it." He said weakly, making sure the dark magic faded rather than finding a new host.

Draco set his book down. "You did?"

"Yeah." Harry said. "You can stab it now, if you want. Avoid the stone."

"Just a minute. Last time we did this you were knocked unconscious, and you had a bloody nose. Then you had headaches for days." Draco said. "Perhaps Remus should take you somewhere else for a bit?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I can't risk Dumbledore finding out."

Draco sighed. "Then at least go upstairs and lay down. I'll check on you after it's done."

"Okay." Harry agreed. He stood up, and stole a quick kiss from Draco before heading upstairs. 

He had flopped down on the bed, and just turned onto his side went he felt the shock run through him. His head pounded. His nose tickled. He stayed as still as he could. 

A minute later Draco was next to him, and frowning at the hint of a bloody nose. "I'm sorry, Harry. I wish it didn't hurt you."

Harry reached out and took one of Draco's hands, and brought it to his lips. "It's okay. There's only two more."

A/N

I hope y'all're enjoying this...