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Harry Potter And The Game of Death
Level 1
Chapter 10: Finding the Horcrux
Remus was hungover. He was hungover, and could not cure it because he had been forced to flush the alcohol from his system with a potion only thirty minutes before the first batch of sixth years had been scheduled to take the written portion of the end of year exams.
Drinking with Minerva had been a bad idea. The woman's frightening eyes had drilled into him throughout their talks as he fielded question after question regarding Harry's adventures.
By the time she let him off the hook to stumble her way back to her room, Remus had looked at the clock and swore aloud when he realized what time it was. What had followed had been a crazed search for the emergency potions kit he kept on hand just in case any student was poisoned. And because he had been in such a rush he had been unable to find his hangover potions. Storing them separate from the kit had seemed like a bright idea at the time, but it was coming back to bite him right now.
The headache his hangover gave him put him in mind of an old saying he had heard from another Scot, a male muggle he and Sirius had found on a pub crawl after James and Lily had been married. The jolly man, an engineer by trade, had regaled them with tall tales the entire night; Sirius had been so amused that he had covered the man's bar tab.
But what had always stuck with Remus was when the man had told them that he never get drunk unless he was willing to pay the consequence. That what you were doing at that moment would need to be worth it the next day, because that was when the piper would come to collect his due.
The man's wise words had fallen flat at the time. The invention of the hangover potion when Remus was a child of ten had been a godsend for the magical world, and was one of the many things which set them apart from muggles. He, Sirius, and James had always made sure to keep one or two close to hand whenever they went out drinking, and it was a habit that Remus had maintained over the long years.
But today that shining achievement of brilliant potioneering had failed him miserably. The headache he was currently experiencing felt like his body had saved up the interest from every time Remus had previously gone drinking and was choosing now to pay it back hundredfold.
The werewolf shook his head and growled to himself as he made paced along a corridor on the seventh floor. He was not really sure why he was there, but he did need a moment to think to himself and this was as good of a place as any. His thoughts wandered back to Minerva and a flush of annoyance rose within his chest.
To think that he had ever thought of Minerva as a kind and respectable figure when she was anything but that! The woman was a sadist. One who masqueraded as a stern yet beloved teacher, hiding the true depths of her villainy from the world behind a charming facade. The woman lacked empathy to a degree that she might as well have been one of the witches from muggle fairy tales!
Okay, so maybe that was a bit harsh – to his knowledge, he had never heard credible tell of McGonnagall locking any children into an oven to cook them alive – but Remus' aching head needed someone to blame. Self-blame could, and probably would, come later, after he had vented his annoyance at those to blame for his current state. The two leaders of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonnagall and Albus Dumbledore.
Ugh! The next time he saw Dumbledore, Remus would be having words with the man. The old wizard's penchant for keeping secrets was well known; and while understandable, as the man had been fighting various Dark Lords for more than six decades, it did sometimes it come back to bite the old coot.
For a reason Remus never learned, Lily and James had nearly torn the old man a new one shortly after Harry's birth. It had taken Dumbledore a month of hard effort to work his way back into their good graces, and was an episode which Remus had never forgotten.
Only this time, instead of hearing about it afterwards and having a laugh over it, Remus had been placed right in the middle of things. It was a position which he did not appreciate.
Feeling even more annoyed, Remus gently rubbed his aching forehead again and cast a silent tempus charm to check the time.
"Shit!" he hissed. He had lost track of time, again, and it was now only five minutes before the exam was set to start. What was even worse is that he was more than five minutes walking distance away! Remus would need to sprint at a dead run if he wanted to make it there on time.
What on Earth had ever possessed him to come to this place? And why had he even thought it was a good idea to pace in this corridor while thinking about how angry he was over his hangover? He turned away and took off, his disheveled robes flapping around him as he passed by one of Hogwarts' many broom closets.
But while he noticed it and disregarded it, Remus failed to hear the sibilant hiss which echoed softly in the hall behind him.
Harry stared at the two girls in front of him. One had a flowing mane of brown, bushy hair. The other kept her ginger red hair in a short ponytail that draped down her neck. The two seemed to be chatting about something. Something which, apparently, was highly entertaining. And something which he was not allowed to join in on.
Harry suspected that it had to do with him, because every now and then one of the two girls would giggle, look back at him, giggle again, and then continue talking to the other one.
It was a strange situation for him. One in which Harry had never found himself in, because up until now he had never been in a situation where the boys were outnumbered by the girls. Harry had always had more male friends and acquaintances than he had female ones, a fact which stretched back as far as he could remember.
Aunt Petunia had been the only constant female presence in the house when Harry had been growing up with them. None of his teachers or schoolmates, female or otherwise, back in muggle Primary had really connected with him. Back then he had been equally shunned by everyone.
Then when he came to Hogwarts, Hermione was the only girl he spent time with on a regular basis. The girls on the Quidditch team were still outnumbered by the boys, and at the Weasley's, Molly and Ginny were always outnumbered by Harry, Ron, the Twins, and Mr Weasley.
Percy did not count, thanks to the arrogant ponce never spending time with anyone. The overly proud boy just locked himself in his room and did his level best to ignore everyone else in the house.
All of which served to underline Harry's point that he had never been in such a situation before. Thus making it feel rather… intriguing. Or was it novel? Either way it was interesting.
A part of him worried about what they were talking about. Like if Hermione was saying that he had bad morning breath. Or if Ginny was talking about how some maneuver he had pulled in a Quidditch game could have been done better. Or about one of a hundred other things which would make Harry feel self conscious about himself.
But Harry trusted Hermione not to be like that. And Ginny seemed to be a nice enough person in her own right. Which meant that that whatever they were talking about must not have been a bad thing.
So why could they not include him in it as well?
It was shortly after this thought had wandered around his brain for a bit that another thought struck Harry like a lightning bolt from the sky.
Was this how Hermione had felt for the past three years? Like whenever he and Ron had started one of their own side conversations? Or talked about Quidditch for hours on end? Neither he nor Ron had tried to exclude Hermione very often, but there had still been times when they had gone off somewhere where she would not be able to overhear them speak.
If that really was how Hermione had felt, then it was no wonder she had often gotten miffed at the two boys. Which, up until now, had been a complete mystery. Harry and Ron had done that sort of thing daily. Except instead giggling, they had given manly laughs. And instead of throwing poorly hidden glances, they hand punched each others shoulders.
He would need to bring up the comparisons to her later to see if she agreed. If he had been unintentionally hurting her for years, he would probably need to apologize. Because now that he was the one being excluded it was rather annoying.
As if sensing his thoughts – and only giving greater credence to his mind-reading theory – Hermione turned back and shot him a smile. Harry felt his suspicions deepen and he scowled. A reaction which only seemed to further amuse her, as she prodded Ginny's shoulder and both girls shared a laugh.
Harry scuffed his shoes and huffed to himself. Maybe inviting Ginny had been a bad idea. Because this sucked. It really, really sucked.
Eventually they ended their own little conversation and dropped back to walk alongside him. When they did, Ginny asked if he could tell her any more details as to what was going on.
He thought about it carefully. Anything about the Game was off limits, but she would need to know about the Horcrux. So with some help from Hermione, he explained that he and Hermione had learned that Voldemort may have hidden something in the castle years ago. Some sort of Dark Artefact which had placed a curse on the DADA position, and was the reason why no Defense Teacher was able to last longer than a year.
To Harry's great surprise Ginny seemed to take it in stride. Which, after years of dealing with Ron and her old inability to even look at him without turning into a blushing mess previously, came as a breath of fresh air.
He had mentioned something along those lines, drawing a tight-lipped frown from Hermione as he did for some odd reason.
Ginny gave a grimace and looked down at her feet as she replied. "You're right Harry. I didn't really leave the best first impression with you, and my idiot brother hasn't done me any favors. But you're talking to a girl who was possessed all of last year by a shade of You-Know-Who, forced to open a secret chamber containing a Basilisk, and nearly had her soul devoured by him so that he could resurrect himself. Keeping that in mind, Voldemort hiding some object in Hogwarts to mess with the education of the one subject best suited to fight him makes perfect sense."
Oh yeah. That… all of that had happened to her. While he had not forgotten about those events Harry had already moved past them ages ago. But Ginny had been controlled for nearly an entire year while that shade of Riddle had slowly sucked out her soul. It would make sense that it was harder for her to forget.
Harry felt his cheeks burn as he watched her formerly confident face fall. He had not meant any harm with his question, but it seemed like he had hurt her in some way. Unsure of how to handle the situation – Hermione had never acted like this before – Harry looked over at his best friend for help.
The brown-haired girl had an exasperated look on her face as she made a motion with her arms. Harry did not follow and raised his eyebrows in response. She made the same motion again, but Harry still did not understand.
With a huff as her patience appeared to run out, Hermione stopped him with one arm and then moved around him to give Ginny a hug. The younger girl seemed to be caught off guard by the embrace at first. Then she returned it, burying her head into Hermione's shoulder.
"It's okay Ginny," Hermione said as she embraced the younger girl. "The Diary is gone, and you've already become a lot stronger this year. Just like we talked about in the Library. And you mustn't forget that you aren't alone either. Your family, Harry, and I are all here for you.
She turned to level a light glare at Harry over Ginny's head. "Right?"
Able to pick up on that cue – and feeling like it was an uncomfortable reminder of his oblivious trait – Harry nodded his head gamely. "Hermione's right, Ginny. Whatever one of us gets into, the other ones also get into as well."
He had never tried to comfort a sad girl before, so he felt like he would probably screw something up, but he had to do something. Leaving Ginny alone when he was the one to make her feel sad in the first place was something that only a stupid twat like Malfoy would do to a person.
"You're a smart, pretty girl, and I know that I would love to get to know you better." Out of words to say, Harry reached over and gave her shoulder a soft pat. It seemed to help, as her face brightened at the contact. "Now let's get a move on and destroy something else that Voldemort values. Sound good?"
Ginny nodded her head as she pulled away from Hermione's hug. "Yeah. Yeah, you're both right." She swiped tears away from her eyes with one arm as she spoke, her beautiful brown eyes glistening in the light. "It's done and over now. So going and breaking something else that that bastard Riddle wanted kept safe… yeah, that sounds plenty good to me."
The moment passed just as quickly as it had come. While Ginny was back to being all smiles, Hermione had made sure to shoot Harry a little glare every now and then, so he made sure to stay on his best behavior.
That novel feeling he had felt before had worn off. But what had replaced it was something equally as interesting. Adding Ginny to the group had a completely different feel than when he had gone out on adventures with Hermione and Ron by his side, and was definitely something that would take getting used to. Harry idly mused as to whether this was just because he did not really know Ginny all that well, or if it was because she was a girl.
It was something that would take further thought. Even with Ron's imminent departure looming over everything, Harry was not looking to replace the other boy with someone else. The trio of Ron, Harry, and Hermione was over, and Harry looked forward to doing something else. To forming close friendships with more than just two other people, and seeing how that changed the rest of his life as well.
It was a scary thought. But one which had stuck around within his mind ever since Ron's talk, and so Harry had decided to trust the feeling and go with it.
Along the way they also encountered a haggard looking Professor Lupin sprinting through the corridors. The young professor whose job they were trying to save had pulled Harry aside for a quick word before continuing on his way. When questioned by the two girls about it, Harry had shrugged his shoulders and said that the Professor had asked to meet with him the next evening.
What the older man wanted to talk about with him was a mystery, seeing as how there had been no new word on Sirius and that the Marauder's map had magically appeared in Harry's trunk the day after everything had happened.
By the time they arrived at their destination the mood between Harry and the two girls had regained its jovial feeling. Although a strange occurrence had caused all three of them to look at each other in puzzlement.
A small wooden door, made from walnut, was placed in the center of the wall. At a place where there should, as of yet, hold no door.
To Harry's right, Hermione raised an eyebrow as she looked at it. Her pretty face was bunched in confusion as she poked it with a finger. "Are you sure that this is the right place, Harry?"
He nodded his head. "Yep, I'm sure."
"Because I thought that you said that the wall would be blank. And this wall doesn't look very blank to me."
"Um, yeah, I can see that too."
"So then why is it not blank? Did the door get left behind from when you and Ron used it?"
"No way," Harry said as he shook his head. "When Ron and I left the door vanished behind us like it had never been there in the first place. I saw it happen with my own eyes."
"Yet there's a door here where there shouldn't be a door."
"Mm hmm. So um, uh, let's take a look inside. Maybe there's something in there that could help this make sense." Fitting his actions to his words, Harry pulled the door open and looked inside.
What he saw inside did nothing to help him. It was a simple, spartan sleeping area which looked to have been setup for a single person. There were what looked to be a number of small, greenish-blue potion vials sitting in a holding rack which stood on a small desk. Nearby was a small bed, and above that bed was a moving fan which was providing a strong current of cool air to the room.
Putting aside the question of how the fan was working without any electricity, Harry scratched his head and entered the room. He motioned behind him for the two girls to follow. "Does any of this make any sense to you?" Harry asked as he picked up one of the vials.
Hermione shook her head, dashing Harry's hopes immediately. Harry was already drawing a blank, and if Hermione was too then Ginny probably had no clue either. Ron would not have known, and Ginny was an entire year younger than Harry and Hermione.
Ginny came over to stand beside him. The younger girl took the potion in his hand, uncorked it, and gave the stuff inside a short sniff. A grimace came over her face as she quickly replaced the cork. "Actually, I recognize this. It's hangover potions. Bill and Charlie always kept a few in their rooms, and I've seen mom and dad have one every now and then too."
"Wait. This is a hangover potion?" Hermione rushed over to look at the table with shock written on her face. "What sort of disreputable person would put a bunch of hangover potions in some sort of unlocked bunk room at a school for children?"
She seemed to gather a full head of steam as she clutched a vial to her chest with both hands. "Of all the lackluster, irresponsible, moronic things that they could… You know what, I'll bet that it was Filch. That man definitely looks like he would drink on the job. And given that this room is located far off the beaten path, no student would have a good reason to come here. That dirty, ugly, horrible spirit of man! Grrrrr!"
As Hermione clenched her teeth together and began to growl in rage, Harry opened his mouth to reply. He was going to say that maybe it was one of the older students – he might not have partaken in it, but Harry was not blind to the fact that more than one of the older students snuck in drinks throughout the year – before thinking better of it. Saying that would probably not end well for him. Hermione was quite likely to turn her anger on him and start demanding a list of names that Harry would rather not reveal.
According to the Twins it would violate something called the bro code; and given that the normally jolly duo had been completely straight faced and serious when they had explained it to Harry and Ron, the bro code had to be something important.
Besides, knowing the bitter old man as Harry did, Filch probably did drink while on the job.
It was Ginny who interrupted Hermione's burgeoning rant on rules and proper behavior. "I'm pretty sure that it was Professor Lupin. Didn't the two of you catch his face? My brothers would like that every morning after they went drinking until they drank one of these potions."
That was it! That would explain everything! Harry almost jumped into the air in joy at Ginny's words. "Ginny! You're a genius!"
The girl in question blinked as she shot Harry a confused stare. Seeing Hermione's equally confused look, Harry shot them both a smug grin. "Hermione, what was the special ability of this room? And who did we just pass in the hallway like Ginny just mentioned?"
Hermione stared at Harry. He could have sworn that he could see the gears turning in her head as she thought over his words. The bushy haired girl smacked one of her palms right onto her forehead the moment she figured it out.
"Yes, that would make sense," she muttered. "If he had been here first then the chamber would have responded to his needs. Although I'm disappointed that I didn't realize that first."
Oh, how those words were like sweet music to Harry's ears. It was not often he got to hear such a line come from Hermione.
He shot her a cocky grin and waggled his eyebrows. "Maybe it's because I'm actually smarter than you are?"
Hermione shot him down immediately. "Sorry. But we both knew that wasn't true even before we could see each other's intelligence and wisdom attributes."
"Maybe, but my charisma attribute probably makes up the difference there. It's much highers than yours is."
"Harry! No. Just… no! That's not how it works and you know it."
"Are you sure? Because there's a lot of stuff about it that we still don't know."
"Yes Harry, I'm sure. Because the categorical nature of the attributes seems to be relatively straightforward. Operating in the manner you are describing would render the entire system useless and nonsensical."
"Nope," Harry said with a shit-eating grin. He was winning this meaningless argument and savoring every moment. "You're just made that my charisma attribute is higher than yours."
Hermione opened her mouth to respond to his latest jab when Ginny's voice interjected.
"Um, what are attributes?" The redhead asked in apparent confusion. "And why would this room change shape? I'm sorta lost over here."
Oh, shoot. With the happy, fun atmosphere that had developed, both Harry and Hermione had forgotten that they had kept Ginny in the dark about the Game. The two of them shot each other an abashed look.
Thinking on his feet, Harry tried to cover up their lapse in a way that would answer her question while preserving his secret.
"The attribute stuff is just something Hermione and I came up with to explain why she's so smart and why I always end up being the center of attention. It's, uh, based on a muggle game that we know." Harry raised one hand to nervously rub the back of his neck awhile giving Ginny an apologetic smile. "As for the other bit… well, remember when I mentioned that this room will always give a person what they desire? If Professor Lupin came through here while hungover and paced around while in need of a hangover potion, then it follows that the room made this place and put some hangover potions in it for him."
Ginny in acceptance of the explanation, which caused Harry's shoulders to sag in relief. Then she turned her head to look around the room. "But if that's right then why does it look like we were the first ones in here?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. Maybe he didn't find it? Or maybe the room refilled the rack after he used it."
"Maybe. But if you're right, how do we get the room to like the way we want it to?"
That point stumped Harry. The group bandied possible solutions between one another before finally settling on an idea posed by Hermione. Considering what had happened after Harry and Ron had left, it was possible that the room would reset itself on its own if they were to leave.
The three students left the room and closed the door behind them. After five minutes of waiting it still remained, so they decided to leave the corridor for a while and then come back.
When they did, the wall was once again blank and ready for Harry to try Hermione's earlier idea.
He started to pace within the corridor, keeping one thought fixated in his mind as he moved. Harry wanted the room to be small and empty. Barren of any object save for one item: Voldemort's Horcrux.
After pacing back and forth three times like Dobby had taught him, Harry turned to face the wall. A small smile of success made its way onto his lips, for a new door could now be seen on the wall.
Made from dark Mahogany trimmed in silver, the imposing barrier made Harry instinctively think of House Slytherin's colors.
A cold, dark chill seemed to flow forth from its imposing visage. Harry heard Ginny take a gulp next to him, and even Hermione's breathing gave a momentary hitch as they too looked at the door.
Harry could not fault them. Whatever lay behind that door was clearly evil. Evil spelled with a capital 'E'.
Gathering his courage, Harry stepped forward and placed his hand on the handle. He firmed his voice with strength he did not feel like he possessed and gave the two girls an encouraging look. "We've come this far. Let's not let this door stop us, and go in and get this thing."
Both girls stepped up beside him. Hermione placed a hand upon his own where it gripped the door's handle. Ginny placed a hand on his left shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. The warmth of their bodies pushed away the door's chill, as though they forced back the evil within.
It was a wonderful feeling. One which Harry wished he could replicate the next time he fought something like a Basilisk or a Dementor.
Not giving himself any further time to think, Harry took a deep breath and pulled the door open with a sudden wrench. He stepped inside with both girls following in lockstep, their grips never faltering.
It felt like Harry had stepped into an ice box. A sudden, unnatural cold had gripped Harry's limbs the moment he crossed the door's threshold. His breath was frosty when it came out of his mouth; and a cold dread, not unlike that of a Dementor's, seemed to sink deep within the pit of his stomach. It caused his heart to race within his chest, and he knew that the girls would not be much better off.
Then he saw the only object within the room and stopped still.
The object was a thing of beauty. It was a crown of some sort, and looked like something the Royal Family might have. Made of beautifully wrought silver and covered in intricate runes, it rested delicately on the stone floor.
A soft glow seemed to come from the object itself… but at the same time the object also seemed to eat all light that came near it. It was a contradiction that set off warning bells inside Harry's mind and instantly caused him to take out his wand.
"Observe," he whispered quietly.
Ding!
You Have Discovered the Lost Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw
Made from Goblin Silver, Ancient Magic Stones, and Powerful Wizarding Magic this Item is Truly a Lost Treasure
Legend States that Any who so Place this Crown Upon their Head will Instantly Become Wiser
Ding!
Ravenclaw's Diadem (Cursed)
Gives the Following Traits When Worn:
+500 to the wisdom attribute; +400 to the intelligence attribute, -100 to the charisma attribute
Possession Due to Infused Horcrux
Ding!
Hidden Quest Notification
Destroy or Purge the Horcrux While Keeping the Diadem Intact
Quest Reward:
The Diadem
Two Free Levels to All in your Party
Do You Accept?
Yes or No
Harry felt his annoyance at the Game's stupid notification sound come back in full force. The loud noise from the three dings had caused him to flinch, making Ginny and Hermione stare at him oddly. He gave them a quick shake of his head to indicate that he was alright, then started to read through the notifications.
When he got to the section detailing the Diadem, Harry could not help but feel annoyed. Of course Voldemort had to take some really cool, powerful relic and stick his soul into it. Just looking at the stat bonuses someone could gain from wearing it made Harry's eyes want to pop out from his head.
After seeing how high Hermione's 196 intelligence and 162 wisdom were when compared to everyone else their age, having access to an item which could give him substantially higher amounts of those attributes instantly caught his attention. They almost made Harry want to run over and plop the thing onto his head just to see if it worked.
But he did not because there was that little issue of the 'cursed' trait. Which, from what the Game was telling Harry, would cause anyone who wore the thing to get possessed. And after seeing what had happened to Ginny last year, Harry had no desire whatsoever to place something similar upon his head.
And then there were the rewards for the hidden quest. If Harry could get the Horcrux out of the relic without damaging it, then not only would Harry get both the Diadem and some free levels; but so would Hermione! The Party system was amazing that way.
Although, he thought to himself with a frown, Ginny might not get any benefits despite her assistance. Harry had not invited her using the Game's Part feature and was not sure how that would affect things like level gains.
Regardless, Harry was truly tempted by the quest. He knew that he needed to get stronger. There was no way that he could face Voldemort in a fair fight and win as things stood; and next time he might not have the advantages that he did back in his first two years.
Hell, Harry knew that he did not even stand a chance against someone like Lucius Malfoy in an all out fight. Not unless the older man was on the same level as Lockhart. So given those depressing issues, and knowing that Hermione was determined to follow him into everything, then he should try to take advantage of any opportunities which arose.
Right now the Game was providing one such opportunity. A way to get massively stronger, while at the same time helping Hermione to get stronger as well.
All Harry needed to do was to take the Diadem and get the Horcrux out. It all sounded so easy, and with something as powerful as the Game on his side, then surely there was no way for him to fail.
It was only when Ginny grabbed his hand that Harry realized how close he had gotten to picking the thing up. The Diadem's metallic surface glowed in the light as soft whispers filled his ears.
A sudden chill went down Harry's spine.
There was something wrong with this situation. He was not thinking clearly. Something… something was affecting him, making him want to pick up the cursed object in front of him.
Harry felt as though his mind were covered in a layer of clear syrup. His thoughts moved slowly, as though struggling to go in any other direction besides picking up the Diadem. But the more this desire grew within him, the more Harry tried to resist it.
Ding!
Charisma Saving Throw Successful
You Have Managed to Resist a Powerful Compulsion While Unaided
The notification from the Game was ignored and closed out immediately. Still holding tightly onto Ginny's hand, Harry backed away. His lungs burned, feeling as though he had not breathed in minutes and causing him to take deep breaths as he stared at the Dark object in front of him.
This thing, the Horcrux, was just like the Diary from last year! Both items had made Harry want to pick them up. To use them for some seemingly benign purpose. And in doing so give them a foothold within they could use to possess his body and mind.
One look at Ginny's face confirmed Harry's thought process. The redheaded girl was staring at the Diadem with a mixture of fear and loathing on her pretty face. Her eyes were narrowed at it, and she was gripping tightly onto Harry's hand with one of her own.
Her other hand was gripping the back of Hermione's robe, bunching the cloth together as the brown-haired witch strained against the hold. Hermione's eyes were locked onto the Diadem, staring at it with an unfocused gaze.
"Harry," the brown-haired girl said in a whisper. "Do you realize what that is? What we've found? This is Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem! According to Hogwarts, a History no one has been able to find it since the death of her youngest daughter. And the rumors about it… oh Harry, the room must have gotten things wrong. This can't be the Horcrux. It's impossible."
Harry shook his head as a grim expression fell on his face. It looked as though what had happened to him was also happening to his best friend too. "You're wrong, Hermione. Almost nothing is impossible with magic. Especially where Voldemort is concerned."
Hermione turned to look at him with a pleading gaze. "But, Harry, this is Rowena Raven's Lost Diadem! It's a legendary treasure! We can't destroy it. We just can't!"
"Don't listen to her Harry," Ginny said from beside him as she tried to hold the older girl in place. "This thing is just like the Diary. They are exactly the same! It's just that this… this thing is even more powerful. You can't listen to anything Hermione says until we can get her away from here. And whatever you do, don't pick it up. It's what it wants you to do; I can feel it."
Ginny was right. Her words only confirmed Harry's own observations. The old plan to grab the Horcrux and take it to Dumbledore for the old wizard to dispose of could not be used. The Headmaster was still gone, and they had no idea when he would return to Hogwarts. Keeping something as evil and Dark as this thing in the dorms until then would be out of the question.
If even Harry and Hermione, two students with more than a passing exposure to Voldemort's evil, could be affected, then chances were that some of their year mates might be dominated entirely.
The plan would need to be changed. They would need to destroy the Horcrux themselves. And they would need to do it as soon as possible.
But without Dumbledore, Harry had no idea how that could be done. The day after the quest had appeared he and Hermione had already questioned the help feature of the game and looked in the school library. The Game had merely reminded Harry that it needed him to actually learn or have access to the requisite information before it could tell him anything. Meanwhile they had only drawn a blank in the non-restricted area before getting yelled at by Madam Pince when they had asked about gaining access to the Restricted Section.
Harry wracked his brain as he heard Hermione begin to struggle against Ginny. As the brown haired girl's struggles began to intensify, Harry heard Ginny curse under her breath. Then the crack a loud slap rang through the room and Hermione's struggles seemed to cease.
Harry turned to look at them from the corner of his eye. He saw a wide eyed Hermione staring at Ginny, the brown-haired witch sporting a brilliant red hand mark on her left cheek.
"Sorry Hermione," Ginny said regretfully as she massaged her right hand, "But I couldn't think of any other way to snap you out of it."
"No, it's okay," Hermione said in a daze. "It wasn't your fault. I… I wasn't quite myself just then, was I?"
"You weren't, but it's okay Hermione. It wasn't really you; it was that thing." Ginny's voice turned venomous as she glared at the glistening Diadem. "It's just like the Diary Harry destroyed last year. The one that possessed me and made me attack everyone. And until we destroy this one, it'll just keep trying to tempt people until someone finally falls to it."
Hermione gave a hollow laugh as she gingerly rubbed her cheek. "Then what can we do? We can't very well pick it up and move it like we thought. Not if it's already affecting Harry and I like this just by being in the same room as it."
Ginny nodded. "Yeah, it's too bad that we don't have any basilisk fangs on hand. The Diary pretty much exploded once Harry stabbed it with one."
Harry, who had been following their conversation as he tried to think of ways to destroy the Horcrux clapped his hands together in triumph. The loud noise startled the two girls, but Harry did not care because Ginny's comment had just given him the solution to their problem.
Harry turned to his bushy haired best friend, feeling his eyes blaze with determination as he did. The outlines of a solid plan had begun to take shape in his mind. If he was right, then they might be able to take care of the Diadem on their own. And do so within the next hour or two to boot.
"Hermione, can you run back to the dorms and get us a bag or something?" Harry said in a confident tone of voice. "If we can levitate this thing into a bag and bring it with us, I think that I know how we can destroy it."
The brown-haired girl nodded, her brilliant mind probably catching up to his thoughts in their usual quick manner. She gave him and Ginny a quick look and left, instructed them to keep each other safe, and departed.
Harry turned his attention to Ginny. "Your comment gave me an idea. That if this thing is really like the Diary, then I can probably destroy it the same way. And while I might not carry a Basilisk fang around with me… I do know where we can find one."
"Down in the Chamber of Secrets." Ginny whispered with a tremble. Her face paled at the thought, and she wrapped both of her arms around her body.
Harry nodded. "That's right Ginny. I didn't take the corpse out after I killed the thing, and I don't think that Dumbledore has done anything either. So if we go down there then we should be able to find a fang."
Ginny's eyes hardened, and she uncrossed her arms to look at Harry with a firm expression on her face. "And if we do get one, then we can kill the Diadem right there without having to worry about the reaction afterwards."
"Exactly!" Harry said with a nod. "The Chamber is isolated, and no one would care if it was harmed in the process either."
Ginny gave a soft, beautiful laugh as her eyes lit up at his words. The sound was infectious, and Harry soon found himself joining in. He moved closer to her and threw an arm around her slim shoulders, delighting in having come up with a solution to the problem at hand. Ginny returned the gesture, and Harry felt the tension leave his body as they simply enjoyed the moment.
Bonding over a mutual loathing of Voldemort and his creations was not what he had been expecting to happen when he had accepted Ginny into his group, but Harry felt no desire to turn away from it. After they had started to laugh the room had felt less cold. Less threatening. As though the laughter had dulled its power and driven it back.
Actually, that probably was what had happened. The theory was similar to how the Patronus Charm worked against Dementors. Just that this way was a lot easier than learning how to cast a complicated spell, and that Harry had not been the one to do it.
As he proceeded to engage Ginny in small talk about Quidditch, seeing whom she supported in the upcoming World Cup, Harry knew what to do about the Game's latest notification.
The quest it had offered was rather tempting. But given what had nearly happened to him and Hermione, and that he had no idea how to accomplish it, Harry felt that there could only be one answer.
He brought up the notification and selected 'no.' Then watched as the green text disappeared into the air.
A/N: I hope that you enjoyed the read! Not much to say this go around either since the turnaround was so short. I'll probably return to my long author notes in the next chapter so enjoy the brevity while you can.
But on a side note, while most of my side characters already have pairings of their own, I'd like to gather your thoughts to see if they align with my own. Let me know whom you would like side characters such as Neville, Cedric, Cho Chang (who is not paired with Harry, despite his existing crush on her), and others to end up with. I also have a few gay pairings slotted for the story (guys and girls alike) as I am a proponent of inclusion. So if you really want to see someone end up with a person of the same gender, then I could be willing to find a way to make it happen.
The board is open for discussion.
The only stipulations are: no incest, and that I have to find the pairing interesting. If one of the characters is underage, then I can find a way to age them up to an appropriate level.
And kudos to anyone who can guess the origin of the obscure hangover quote :3
Until Next Time,
~Elsil