That was her thought...

So, onwards and upwards, to the second floor library - it's pretty big, easily taking up most of the floor, and despite cleaning and general attempts to get some light in the room, it's really dim. The dust levels have gone down a lot, though, and it no longer looks quite like a looming, hungry maw. Still, Bellatrix warns them not to touch anything without checking with her first.

The books they pass do look very interesting - Bellatrix pulls down a few for them - and there's so much it'll likely take more than one visit to get these all catalogued. Many of the books are fragile, too. Many old, and either from very limited prints or outright hand written - there's a good number of inherited spell development journals, which, jackpot.

(And the back, despite being ostensibly near the windows, is the dimmest. An uneasy air hangs around those shelves, a grime that can't seem to be removed choking the air. The back wall's given over to desks with artwork above them - the only intact one is a small secretary-style desk shoved into one corner, barely visible in the gloom.)

(It's headache inducing, really, especially the nearer Ellie gets.)

"...Get Fay," she says, pressing a hand to her forehead.

Bellatrix frowns. "Anathema - "

"On it," she says, even as she's turning to run from the room.

And Bellatrix moves to stand by Ellie, drawing her wand. "You alright?"

"Scar hurts. Near the desk. Feels like a horcrux."

She nods.

And Fay rushes in - gets a quick situation update from Bellatrix - and, "Alright. Ellie, can you back up to the hallway? I might still need you, but I'd like some space. Anathema, can you get Dumbledore?"

She nods, running out again.

She retreats to the hall.

And Fay and Bellatrix begin casting soft detection spells - small wards - and then turns to talk to Dumbledore when he arrives.

They work together, the three of them intent on the desk - the wood peels away, slowly -

And there's a soft 'pop' by Ellie, as the house elf, Kreacher, Apparates in, ears back and face drawn. "What are they doing?" he demands.

"We think there's a Dark object in the desk that needs destroying."

He pauses, eyeing her. "It does. Master Regulus's last wish was destroying it."

"-Where did he get it? Do you know what it is?"

"A bad thing. It was the Dark Lord's. He put it in a horrible cave, but Master Regulus was smart, and he figured out where it was." Kreacher makes a distressed noise while intently watching the three dismantle the desk. "It was in a potion, that couldn't be vanished or poured out or reached through, and Kreacher said Kreacher would drink it, even though it hurt, but Master Regulus made Kreacher give the potion to Master Regulus. Master Regulus told Kreacher to take the locket and destroy it and made Kreacher leave, even though the horrible things were coming to kill him - none of Kreacher's magic could destroy it, so Kreacher hid it."

He turns to stare at her again. "Are you going to destroy it?"

"Yes," she says, voice firm. "Maybe not me personally, but we are going to destroy it."

He pauses. Then: "I still don't like you."

And he strides into the room to tell the three wizards - who've since noticed the conversation - that the locket has no protections around it, and what he knows of the protections on it - it's safe to handle, but tries to mind control you if you open it.

That speeds up the process - but they're still very cautious about putting it in a secure box. They thank him, Bellatrix the most awkwardly, Fay the most sincerely, and promise to involve him in the locket's destruction.

"We can just try the Killing Curse," Fay says, "But basilisk venom worked on the last one and is likely safest - nothing to rebound or reflect, no connection forged to the caster..."

"We still have the last batch, right?"

She nods. "Disposing of it's been hard, so, yes. It's still potent."

Off to that, then?

Unless someone has an extremely convincing reason to delay. (In which case they should check for Imperius and Polyjuice.)

None of those, no.

Back to Hogwarts with them, then, to the part of the Chamber they've secured the seal vat of basilisk venom in. There's a similar protecting the audience process as last time, and Dumbledore fetches Fawkes on the way.

And then Dumbledore lowers the locket into the venom - removes it when that has no effect, opens it, grimaces -

And drops it into the vat.

The smoke billows out angrily, it sizzles - and the venom can be easily drained away, leaving an apparently horcrux-less, undamaged locket. (Kreacher is possibly crying.)

Dumbledore sighs, slumping against a column.

"One more down," Fay says, softly.

"That'd be more comforting if we knew how many more to go."

Hug and hair pet.

"With any luck, it'll be over soon."

Huff. "Yeah. Luck."

She strokes Ellie's hair.

"Perhaps also a lot of hard work from us. We're good at that, though."