Maybe it cause I'm working solely through the mobile app, but i just cannot get it to say incomplete. Also, this isn't a tomXhermione fic. I probably won't have any pairings. I'll figure out these settings eventually. Finally, this may be my last update for a week or so, i burned my hand pretty badly after I got all this typed up. But anyway, chapter time.
It took us several hours to reach Hogwarts. I had to stop every few minutes to rest, this weak body failing me at every turn. A proper meal would go a long way to fixing this, but I had a growing suspicion that it was poorly cared for by its previous inhabitant. I was sore in places even my former body hadn't ache in, despite being more than fourty years older. It was approaching midday when we came to a short slide. Ginny muttered something I didnt catch and the slide became a set of stairs leading to the backside of a closed door. Luna helped me up the steps as ginny pushed the door open. Climbing oit of the passage way saw us standing before a one eyed witch i remembered from my youth. We were finally in the castle. Third floor, if my memory of Hogwarts wasnt too far outdated. I leaned on the wall, invisibility cloak hanging off my arm. Luna waved her wand around, casting under her breath. I wondered when i could bring up my lack of a wand. Id searched the clothes i was wearing discretely as we'd made our way through the underground passage, but came up empty.
"You should put your cloak back on. We dont know when we'll run into someone, or if they'll be friendly. I doubt He left any of the teachers he couldnt control alive." Ginny said as Luna switch from detection charms to disillusionment charms. Ginny shimmered and melted from my view, but her voice was still clear and close by. "Where do we go from here? Ravenclaw tower?"
"It wouldnt be there. Ravenclaw's have been searching for Rowena's lost diadem for centuries. If it were in the tower, we would have found it by now." Luna's voice was even more etheral when disembodied. She was right, at least partially. The diadem had been in the tower, a top a statue of their house founder. I dont what spells Helena had used to hide the damned thing in plain sight, or why no one had thought to check the obvious places, but I liked to believe that I alone was meant to find it. Helena certainly agreed with me at the time. I needed to steer them torwards the seventh floor.
"I... think we should go up. It's in a large room" No need to play the scar pain card again. They couldnt see me, but they needed to believe I was having another vision. "There are so many lost things there" I let my words drift off. Ginny squeaked, and I dearly wished I could see them to gauge how they were reacting.
"I know where to go." She whispered. "Harry, uncover your hand for a moment. I'm going to lead you." I considered this. I could invite her under the cloak with me, my small stature leaving more than enough room for a second, equally petit person. I decided against it. I might be forced to abandon these girls and continue on my own. I pulled the cloak so only my hand was visible and an invisible hand grabbed it and began to pull. I covered both of our hands with the cloak as best as i could as I was dragged down the hallway.
"Luna," Ginny called back, "The Room pf Requirements." I didnt hear Luna reply, but i assumed she was with us. The castle was empty where we were, but the occasional screams that floated up from the lower floors were proof enough that at least some of my army was still present. We didnt see anyone until the fifth floor. Three boys, all Slythrins judging from their robes, croweded around a hufflepuff girl with dark red hair. She was bleeding profusely from a cut above her eyes. Ginny froze, forcing me to a halt as well.
"Hannah. Why are you still here? Why didnt you leave with the others?" The tallest of the boys demanded of her. His hair was a similar red, so I took him as her family. One of his lackeys looked far too much like Thoros Nott for coincidence. The other was an attractive, dark skinned boy I couldnt place at all.
"Im sorry Conrad. I had to stay. Some of the younger years are still missing. And no one has seen Ginny or Luna since yesterday. They were practially in charge of evacuating the youngest student." She sounded out of breath. Ginny squeezed my hand, and for a moment i feared she would reveal us, but she pulled my hand again and we set off for the next floor. Hopefully Luna was still following, though part of me thought it would be easier to subdue one tiny witch as opposed to two.
Finally, in the corridor with the tapastry of Barnubus the Barmy and his many troll dancers, we found the room of hidden things. I cast off my cloak, and surveyed the hall.
"Where's Luna?" I asked. Ginny came into veiw as the spells on her came off. She was holding a galleon, staring at it edges.
"She'll catch up. She stopped to brief Hannah and Conrad. They were instrumental in getting the smaller kids out of the castle after we had to flee from the room. This room." She pointed to the blank wall in front of us. "Do you-" she paused. She worried her lip with her teeth for a moment then tried again, "You'll have to think about what you're looking for. Walk three times passed this tapastry, concentrate on what you need, and the door should appear." I looked at her. She made it sound as though this room held more than centuries of lost treasures. I'd explore that knowledge at some point in the near future. I took her advice and thought of the room of hidden things. The place where all things lost in Hogwarts would eventually end up. The door rippled into existance on my third pass.
"I'll wait here. Some one needs to keep watch for Luna and Death Eaters. Just hurry" Ginny pushed me to the door. I nodded to her and went inside. The room was as grand as I remembered. Piles of junk as far as the eyes could see. Robes and bools, broken quills, shoes without mates, and most importantly, still perched upon the bust I'd left it on, was the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw. My horcrux. I snatched it up, the various spells protecting it acknowledging me as the caster and greeting me warmly. I would have to break it to release my soul from it, but I could deal with that later. For now, I wrapped it into my cloak and headed for the door. I caught sight of a pile of wands on my way out and pocketed more than a few of them. One of them should be a close enough fit for my current purpose.
Out side the room, Luna and Ginny waited. It would have made more sense for them to remain hidden, but at least I didnt have to go lookong for them.
"I got it." I breathed. Ginny smiled and Luna held out her hand.
"Let me see it. We have to destroy it. " I flinched. I didnt expect that. Ginny shook her head.
"Luna, we cant right now. We dont have the sword, and i dont think any of us can control fiendfyre." I could. That wouldnt help right now, though. Luna reached into her robes and pulled out a vial filled with opaque, pale green fluid. Baskilisk venom.
"I stole this from Professor Snape's private storeroom months ago. Just in case. Throw this at a death eater, escape while the venom eates their flesh. It should take care of the horcrux, right?" I didnt have an argument for that, not one that wouldnt raise suspicions anyway. Neither did Ginny, it seemed. Something about the hopeful smile she flashed at Luna felt empty. I reluctantly pulled the diadem out of my cloak. I palmed one of tne wands in my pocket, silently hoping it was a strong enough match to aide me when this all went terribly wrong. Luna placed the diadem on the ground. Ginny came up behind me and grabbed my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I had to force myself not to pull away from her. Luna tipped the vial, letring two fat drops land on it. My horcrux didnt even try to fight back, it already knew I was there. The diadem screamed in agony, splitting in half where the venom ate through the metal. A black mist rose from the ruined articfact. It hovered menacingly for a moment, then charged me. I heard Ginny and Luna scream as it slammed into my head, striking me right in the scar. All at once i felt more complete. Not fully there, but far more so than just mlments ago. The two soul fragments melded together, thoughts and memories colliding in my mind, fighting for dominance. The piece inside the diadem was larger, more whole than the one that had been in the boy. I was less the man of almost 60 years, the leader of the force determined to rule the world, and more the 18 almost 19 year old Tom, freshly scorned by Albus Dumbledore for asking to teach at Hogwarts. I opened my eyes and luna gasped.
"Harry... your eyes... y-you arent harry at all, are you?" She sounded terrified. I smiled.
"No." I didnt have time to get the wand id found leveled at her before she turned and ran. I tried to get to my feet and failed.
"Avada Kadavra." The green light flew over my head and splashed against Luna's back. She crumbled to the floor, her oversized dreamy eyes lifeless. I looked back at Ginny. Her wand arm slowly lowered to her side as she looked me, her eyes filling with tears.
"Tom, is that you?" She whispered.