Albania - 1

"Shut it," Ron said, grumbling. He shoved Harry forward a bit more roughly than necessary.

The next morning, they arrived at the address Harry had seen on the card at Borgin and Burkes. At some point in the last decade, the Smith family had converted the house into a museum. According to the card, part of the house had been kept as living accommodations, while another portion was open to the wizarding public.

The sign on the door read 'open', so the four simply walked inside.

It no longer resembled anything Harry remembered in the Pensieve. Gone were all the fussy old lady furnishings, replaced by display cases and slick leather chairs.

"Potter! What in blazes are you doing here?" cried an annoyingly familiar voice.

Harry turned to see a tall, skinny blonde boy striding towards him. Zacharias Smith was a fellow Hogwarts student who made a habit of being an annoying thorn in Harry's side.

"Smith," he said, nodding.

"I would have thought you'd have gone into hiding somewhere. It can't be hard to find you if you're out strolling in public. If You-Know-Who really is trying to kill you, that is," Smith said, sounding as if it didn't really matter either way.

Harry shrugged, refusing to be baited. "I've had things to do."

"Yes. I saw your picture in the Prophet the other day after you got your License to Apparate. It must have been a slow news day," Smith replied.

"What do you want?" Ginny asked angrily. She'd never forgiven Smith for his derogatory commentary during their Quidditch match against Slytherin the previous year.

"What do I want?" Smith asked incredulously. "I think you're confused. You're the ones who came in here, remember, dear?" he asked condescendingly.

Harry saw Ginny reach for her wand, and he quickly stood in front of her.

"Zacharias Smith, of course," Hermione said. "Your family runs the museum. I don't know why I didn't make the connection."

Smith stared at her, blinking. "You mean you didn't come in here to see me? You're here to see the artifacts. I can understand your interest, Granger. You always were an over-achiever, but the rest of you lot never appeared overly interested in the Hufflepuff lineage. What are you on about?"

"Nothing," Harry said, shaking his head. "It was Hermione's idea to come, and we didn't have anything better to do. We didn't know you'd be here."

Smith nodded, although he still appeared slightly suspicious. "Well, take a look around then, but don't touch anything. You're lucky you came when you did; we'll be shutting down for a fortnight in September."

"Really? Why?" Hermione asked.

"I assume you've heard that Hogwarts isn't reopening. I'm spending my last year at Beauxbatons. My parents are traveling with me until I'm settled. I'm surprised you're not doing the same, Granger. How are you going to complete your studies?" Smith demanded.

"My mum is home schooling all of us," Ron said, his ears turning only slightly pink.

"I see," Smith said disdainfully, looking down his upturned nose at them. "I'm certain that will be adequate if you can't afford to go to France. I'll leave you to admire the treasures."

"'I'll leave you to admire the treasures,'" Ron mimicked, prancing after Smith. "Why the little –"

"Ron," Hermione said reproachfully. "Just be quiet and look around a bit so we can Apparate back when we're ready."

They spent a little time looking over some of the antiques and reading a bit about the known information on Helga Hufflepuff so they wouldn't further arouse Zacharias' suspicions. When they gathered back outside, Harry made a decision.