Harry Potter strolled down the marble hallway with a spring in his step. If Snape could see him now, Harry had no doubt that the word "strutting" would be involved. The ornate columns ringed in gold stood tall, holding up a ceiling that Harry had spent the afternoon punching holes through. The sunlight streamed into the temple and illuminated walls that hadn't seen natural light in centuries. Harry looked upwards at the clear sky and smiled, navigating over and around the debris with ease.
The horcrux that had been hidden here had certainly put up a fight, but it ended up being pretty easy to get rid of in the end. One or two bursts of Fiendfyre, a handful of ward stones, and lots of piercing, slicing, and blasting curses had made short work of the place. Not to mention a significant amount of sheer luck and winging it.
Harry whistled a jaunty tune as he ascended the cracked stairs to the surface. He spun Rowena's diadem around his finger, reveling in the acrid smell of the blackened and twisted metal. As he passed the rather discolored remains of the Inferi guards, his hand went to his wand. He was pretty sure that he got them all, but had been through too many battles to not be cautious. Playing dead was a trick he'd employed a time or two as well.
Nothing in the pile of bones and jelly stirred as Harry sidled past it, although he could swear that the sunken eye of what used to be a little girl blinked at him.
That was probably the worst part, he reflected. The mass of twisted and charred bodies he had spent the day blasting his way through used to be living people who Voldemort blasted his way through. The entire refugee population of magical Greece was probably lying dead behind him now. Permanently dead, this time.
From what he remembered from Hermione's briefings, Greece had had their own Dark Lord to worry about recently. The Dark Lady Thanatos, who, Harry thought, received no points for creative naming, had ravaged the magical community here. People lost their homes and their families before she was defeated, and then in swoops Voldemort to take out her leftovers.
Harry reached the top of the staircase in a much worse mood than he started the climb. He exited Voldemort's underground temple, stepping out into the ruins of Delphi once more. Taking one more look at the broken diadem, he tossed it backwards into the tunnel he'd just emerged from. Even destroyed, it wasn't a good idea to keep horcruxes around. Even the strongest people believed in whispers they wanted to hear.
He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that one more of the disgusting soul traps was gone from the world. With one last look behind him at the crumbling temple, Harry closed his eyes and apparated back to the cottage he'd been using as a base lately. It wasn't extravagant, but anything with a roof and a fidelius charm was better than nothing. Not to mention the owners had a nice collection of canned goods stocked up, which was always nice. You could only transfigure wild mushrooms into treacle tart so many times before you started feeling queasy.
Harry longed to flop down into the bed, but there was one thing he absolutely had to do first. After spending another two minutes digging through his unorganized trunk, he found what he was looking for.
"Ron Weasley." Harry spoke into the mirror.
Within seconds, the mirror's surface shifted, like seeing a soap bubble in the sunlight, and Ron's face swam into view.
"Any breakthroughs?" Ron immediately asked.
"Crispy diadem. Everyone's fried." He grinned in response.
"Great, Harry. I just killed…. uh… Luna's… mom?"
Harry shook his head. The ABC speaking code was a good way to confirm identities, but Ron consistently struggled to keep it going too long.
"Anyway, Ron, I just called to let you guys know the diadem is officially no more." Harry allowed himself a triumphant smile. "How goes things on your front?"
"They've been better." Ron sighed. "Hermione is getting a little impatient to move. We've been camping out the school for weeks now, and we think we've almost worked out a way to get in… the real problem will be getting out again." He muttered.
"Did you actually locate the position of the ring yet?"
"Maybe. There's nothing as obvious as a temple or a labyrinth of fire, but we think we know where it is." Ron nodded.
"I'll be joining you guys soon. All I have left to do here is break down camp, visit Kostis again, and then I'll grab an Express."
Ron's eyes widened. "An Express, Harry? Do we have the money for that kind of thing? Not to mention the sort of bloke who rides it would turn you in in a heartbeat."
Harry waved off his concerns. "The money is why I'm seeing Kostis first. As for the ride, let me worry about that."
Ron reluctantly let it go, and the two talked for another ten minutes about strategy and how Harry could locate them after arriving in America.
"Remember to go without me if you see an opening." Harry instructed.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Yes, boss." The mirror's surface swam again and returned to a regular reflection.
Harry packed it back into his trunk, and smiled. He made his way over to the section of wall devoted to hanging his notes, with glowing lines of various colors running between them. A short and controlled burst of blue flame shot from the holly and phoenix feather wand in his hand and caught the picture of Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem. Voldemort's symbol of knowledge, hidden away behind an army of the dead in the place of ancient prophecy. Harry didn't doubt that the hiding place had something to do with the it being the resting place of the great snake Python either. At least he hadn't had to fight that inferius. As the paper blackened and crumpled, sparks rising and ash blowing away, Harry smiled.
"Two down. I'm coming, Sirius."
Ilvermorny was the next stop.